


Prey

by MStefanie



Category: B.A.P
Genre: Angst, M/M, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2018-12-03 08:56:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 37
Words: 77,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11528901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MStefanie/pseuds/MStefanie
Summary: Daehyun shouldn't have gone home so late, nor should he have made his way through that forest. He just should have ignored the scream because afterwards, nothing was like it had been.Top!JaeOriginally posted on AFF





	1. Chapter 1

It was already 2am when Daehyun was on his way home. He had spent the whole day in the practice room of his university. As the exams were right around the corner, he was practising his singing even harder than usually. Yesterday, he had practised until his throat hurt. A senior eventually had to stop him and send him home, otherwise he probably wouldn't have been able to speak today.

Sighing, he tugged at the scarf around his neck. It was a mild spring night, too warm for a scarf but he couldn't afford to get sick right now. His life depended on this exam. He had failed the last one because he was too nervous, this was his last chance, or else he would lose the scholarship and the tuition fee was way too high for him to be able to afford it. The little money his foster parents gave him was barely enough to pay for his living expenses. He once had asked them for a little bit more because he needed to buy new clothes, which had earned him a hard slap in the face and an hour of being yelled at because they had apparently already spent way too much money on him and he was just being ungrateful. That was also the last time he had visited them. They didn't want to see him anyway. Sometimes he wondered why they had adopted him after his mother's death when they obviously hated him and every other living being on earth, no, probably in the universe. He didn't care about them anyway as they had never been the loving parents he had wished for.

He was currently living in Seoul, far away from their home. His shared apartment was an hour walk away from the university, which was one of the reasons why it was cheap. Not that he would complain though, he liked the walk. His route lead him right through a big park, which was especially nice during summer when everything was blooming.

At first he found it a little bit scary because he also had to walk through a small forest in the middle of the park but he got used to it quickly. Sometimes his room mate, a medical student called Yoo Youngjae would accompany him.

Unlike him, Youngjae disliked having to walk long distances but he still didn't look for an other apartment closer to the university, even though he had enough money. “ _You would probably burn the place down or kill you_ _rself_ _in another stupid way. I would be uneasy thinking about you living alone._ ” he had said when Daehyun had asked him why he didn't just move elsewhere. However, Daehyun assumed that Youngjae stayed because he knew Daehyun couldn't pay for the whole rent. He never mentioned it though and Daehyun was grateful for that.

They were almost the same age, Youngjae was a little younger and both were very passionate about music, though Youngjae jokingly had stated that he would never want to become a musician because it wasn't a very high-paying job and one also would have to play the kind of music one didn't like. Sometimes Youngjae could be very stubborn and also a know-it-all which was annoying as hell but most of the time they got along very well. And, which was the most important factor according to Daehyun, he was an excellent cook. He had never eaten better food than what Youngjae had cooked. If Daehyun weren't 99.9% sure that Youngjae was straight, he would've already asked him out. Like, what else could he wish for: Youngjae was smart, stunningly beautiful and a great cook.

Daehyun smiled to himself as he entered the forest. He really was lucky to have Youngjae as a room mate and also as a friend. At university he barely knew anyone except for a few seniors and he was quite shy with new people. That's why he spent most of his time alone, unless some obtrusive students decided to bother him. Usually they'd just try bad chat-up lines or follow him through the building but they had gotten braver lately to the extent that someone had even grabbed him. He just hoped it had been a one-time thing. These guys were creepy enough when they kept their distance.

“Don't touch me!”

Daehyun's head jerked up. He looked around, hastily trying to locate the voice's direction. To think someone actually was attacking a women right now in this forest. Sweat formed on his forehead. Should he call the police? But they would never arrive in time. Daehyun though doubted he could be much of a help given that he wasn't very strong. A loud scream made him run further into the forest. This wasn't the time to be overthinking.

“Leave her alone!” he yelled at the dark silhouette that was bowed over a body on the ground, who immediately turned around to look at him. Daehyun gulped down his fear. “I said to leave her alone!”

Whatever this man was, he didn't seem human. His face was hidden in the shadow, yet his eyes were glowing in the dark. With beastlike movements he came a little bit closer to Daehyun and tilted his head. “Look what we have here.” His voice made Daehyun shiver. Was it even possible for someone to have such an icy voice? “Such a pretty face.” he snickered.

Daehyun took a step back as the man continued to come closer. “What's wrong with the woman?” She hadn't moved the whole time. Was she dead? He dreaded to hear the answer. What had he gotten himself into again? He should have called the police when he had the time. This wasn't just a drunk guy harassing a woman. He just ran into a murder scene.

“Poor thing. She struggled so much yet in vain.” The man spoke as if he were sad. The closer he came, the more of his features Daehyun could make out in the faint moonlight. He was handsome but there was something about him that scared the hell out of Daehyun. His eyes seemed to have a reddish glow and his shirt had blood stains. “I was having so much fun but she just died midway.” He gave the body behind him a disappointed look before he looked back to Daehyun. A wide smile appeared on his face. “Maybe you'll entertain me a bit more.”

And with that, Daehyun turned around and ran for his life.


	2. Chapter 2

The forest had never seemed this big. Daehyun cursed under his breath as he tried to create a wider distance between him and the man. He felt as if he had been running for minutes, which should have been enough to reach the end of the forest but the end was still out of sight. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed with fear that the man had come even closer by now, though he didn't even seem to be running at full speed. In fact, the man seemed rather relaxed as if he was only jogging a little. Well, maybe Daehyun was just very slow. He wasn't very sportive in general and the fact that it had probably been years since he had worked out for the last time didn't help.

“Are we getting tired?” he heard the man yell after him. The smirk was evident in his voice. And of course, he didn't sound the slightest as if he was out of breath. So much for the little hope he had had that the man would give up after a while of running. “Maybe we should take a break?” the man laughed at him as if he had just made the funniest joke in the world.

Yes, Daehyun was tired as hell. Yes, he wanted to take a break desperately but he forced himself to keep on running. No way he was just going to stand still and wait to be murdered. Though he probably wouldn't be able to escape, maybe he could reach the park area. Sometimes there were people even at night, especially when the weather was mild like today.

“It's futile.”

Daehyun's eyes widened in shock. The voice had been a whisper coming not from behind him but from right next to him instead. Refusing to turn his head he continued to run anyway, internally yelling at his legs to move faster.

“You are really amusing.” the man chuckled. “But I like your spirit. It's always more fun when they fight back, you know.”

Shaking his head slightly, Daehyun tried to ignore the presence beside him. He was almost there, if he would only run a little bit more… His face lit up as he finally saw the end of the forest. Just a little bit more…

“Oh my, we can't have that now.” With a dark growl, the man threw himself at Daehyun and made him fall down to the ground. The smirk never left his face. “It would be a shame if you escaped now, dear.” He harshly grabbed Daehyun's wrists and sat on his thighs, making it nearly impossible to move away from him. “I must admit that you've entertained me a lot already, a lot more than this woman. What's your name, dear?”

Daehyun turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to die this young. He had just turned 21, that wasn't even a quarter of how long his life was supposed to be. (A lot of his family members had lived for 100 years or even more, so he assumed he was supposed to become at least 100 years old as well.) Why did he have to practise this long today out of all possible days? Normally he would have already been at home, safe and only fearing the bugs that found their way into the apartment.

“Don't ignore me, dear. It's very upsetting.” The man leaned closer towards his face with a slight pout. “My name is Sung Joon. There, I told you my name. It would only be fair to tell me yours as well.” As Daehyun still didn't answer, he decided to drag his tongue over the other's cheek to grab his attention.

An “Ew.” escaped Daehyun's lips before he even noticed the wetness on his cheek. Bewildered he looked up to Sung Joon, who frowned a little.

“Now that's not very nice. When someone is trying to be affectionate you should never react with disgust.” Sung Joon raised an eyebrow pursed his lips as if he was lecturing a child. “You could emotionally scar someone when you keep being like this, you know.”

What the hell was wrong with this man? Why was he being so weird? Daehyun tried to understand what was going on but the fear hindered his thinking-process. And the fact that Sung Joon had started to nibble on his earlobe. “Stop it!” He tried to move away from the man which had no effect at all. Cursing himself for being so lazy he decided that if he somehow survived this, he would start going to the gym.

A soft moan escaped him when Sung Joon bit into the sensitive skin of his neck. “Please stop!” He sounded pathetic even in his own ears but whatever this man was doing it had strange effects on him, which scared him even more than the fact that he was in a life-threatening situation.

To his surprise, Sung Joon actually stopped. “Your name, dear?” Although he spoke in a gentle tone, he was clearly impatient. Daehyun could tell by the way his grip around Daehyun's wrists tightened to the point that he could almost feel his bones snapping.

“Your hurting me!” he cried out. “Please–”

“Your. Name.” Sung Joon tightened is grip even more with every word. Annoyance started to show on his face.

“Daehyun.” he almost screamed. “Jung Daehyun.” Luckily he was released as soon as he had told the man his name. He hissed as he tried to move his wrists. They were not broken but it still hurt so much.

Now back to a gentle face expression, Sung Joon caressed Daehyun's face. “Jung Daehyun.” He repeated the name a few times and chuckled softly. “I like that name. It has a nice sound to it. Don't you think so too?”

Still scared and hurting, Daehyun slightly nodded. This guy was unbelievably strong, he probably could have easily broken his arm and yet he acted like they were only having some small talk. This unpredictable behaviour made him even scarier.

“Now let's get down to business, shall we?” With that Sung Joon rose to his feet and looked down to Daehyun. “Will you keep on lying there?”

Utterly confused Daehyun stood up as well. What was he planning? He wouldn't just let him go, Daehyun was sure of that.

“Good boy.” Sung Joon chuckled. “Tell me, do you have any idea of what I am planning to do to you?”

Daehyun shook his head. No, and he didn't want to find out. He'd rather just go home and forget everything that had happened in the forest.

“Well, I'll tie your hands with that nice scarf of yours and fuck you hard against a tree.” Sung Joon explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Then I'll either kill you or take you home with me and keep you as my new plaything. How does that sound?”

That sounded worse than what Daehyun had imagined. He'd rather just die right now than be raped first. Frantically his eyes scanned his surroundings. They were still close to the edge of the forest. Maybe, if he managed to surprise Sung Joon…

He sprinted a few steps forward but his foot got caught on a tree root and he fell face-first to the ground. So much for his last chance to escape.

“That surprised me.” Sung Joon covered his mouth with one hand pretending to be shocked, before he bent down and grabbed Daehyun by his hair. “But like I said, it's more fun when you fight back.” He yanked Daehyun to his feet, ignoring the pained yelp. “Did anyone ever tell you that you are very weak?” he laughed as Daehyun tried to free himself. “You aren't much stronger than that woman.”

Still laughing, he tugged on Daehyun's scarf until it came off. Daehyun was pushed against the next tree and his hands were tied behind is back at the speed of light. He briefly wondered whether the man sometimes practised this at home before his attention was drawn back to the cold fingers creeping under his shirt.

“Please stop!” Daehyun wasn't normally a person that would easily beg. He was actually a quite proud person but at this moment he would have thrown himself to the ground if he had been able to move freely and beg for Sung Joon to just leave him alone, although he knew it was futile. The other was having too much fun to let him go.

“Don't worry Daehyunnie ~” The man cooed. “I'll make sure you like this. It wouldn't be fair if only I have fun, right? And fairness during social interaction is very important to me.” He would have probably patted his own shoulder for that statement – what a great man he was – but he was too busy running his fingers over Daehyun's chest while he leaned forward to nibble at his neck.

Again, Daehyun moaned involuntarily, mentally cursing himself and his body for these reactions. He was grossed out at the other man's actions but his body didn't react according to his will. The knee pressed against his groin made him want to puke but at the same time sent shivers through his body.

“See, I told you you'd be liking it.” Sung Joon smirked and pressed a light kiss on Daehyun's cheek. “But wait a little, it will get even better ~” His hand wandered towards Daehyun's back and downwards.

“No, please–” Daehyun was close to breaking out in tears. He felt so helpless. Not only was he unable to move, he didn't even have any control left over his body functions. It was just humiliating and terrifying at the same time.

“You'll like this, I promise.” Sung Joon's hands had arrived at places Daehyun didn't want to be touched by anyone. Ever!

Before he could beg once more, Sung Joon suddenly moved his hands away and turned around.

Daehyun almost fell as the strength suddenly left his legs. Relief mixed with confusion as he looked up and saw a very angry Youngjae standing a few metres away from them.

“Sorry to interrupt your fun.”


	3. Chapter 3

“What do you think you're doing, Sung Joon?”

Daehyun frowned slightly. How would Youngjae knew this guy? He didn't look like someone Youngjae would hang out with nor did he look like another medical student. Then again, Daehyun didn't follow Youngjae around 24/7. To be honest, he actually had no idea what Youngjae liked to do in his spare time because he was mostly busy studying, doing house chores or accompanying Daehyun.

“I was about to have some fun until you appeared out of nowhere.” Sung Joon pouted, though his eyes were full of excitement. “But since you've already apologised, I guess I'll just let it slide.” Grinning, he pulled Daehyun into his arms and held him so tight he couldn't move even the slightest bit.

Not that he would have been able to try to free himself anyway though. His legs felt like jelly, whereas his arms were still bound and his brain was having a difficult time trying to figure out what was going on. How did Youngjae know he was here? Well, at least that was easy to answer: Daehyun had been abnormally late, even later than the day before, which is why Youngjae was going to check on him and the most likely place for him to be was the university or somewhere on his way home. Luckily he always took the same route. What was really bothering Daehyun though was how these two knew each other. At first he had thought that they were the exact opposites: Sung Joon was cold-hearted, probably a sadist and simply dangerous but Youngjae was kind and caring. However, the longer he stared at Youngjae, the scarier he seemed. Most likely because of the situation he was currently in, Daehyun somehow found Youngjae almost as intimidating as Sung Joon.

“Let him go.” Youngjae demanded through gritted teeth and clenched his fists until the knuckles turned white. He was obviously furious at Sung Joon, who laughed at him.

“Why would I?”

“Because he's mine.” Youngjae's voice had become dangerously deep, which made Daehyun shiver. He seemed more like a wolf defending his territory rather than the kind Youngjae he usually was.

“Oh, really?” Sung Joon buried his nose in Daehyun's neck earning a surprised yelp before he looked back up. “I knew he smelled familiar. But you didn't mark him, otherwise I would've recognized you immediately.” He smirked. “Which means our Daehyunnie here is no one’s property. I'm not obligated to give him to you.”

Mark? Property? Daehyun's head was spinning but he didn't have the time to think about that properly because Sung Joon's hands ones again where all over his body, touching him inappropriately right in front of Youngjae. He lowered his gaze in shame. This was already bad enough but being seen by his friend like this made everything so much worse. He didn't want to be seen this helpless. And what could Youngjae do to help him? Wasn't he just as helpless as Daehyun? Moreover, he didn't seem to know in what danger they were. Sure, he might know Sung Joon but how would he also know that Sung Joon was capable of murder? Besides, Youngjae was maybe a little bit more muscular than Daehyun but he doubted that Youngjae would be able to fight Sung Joon, no matter how intimidating he seemed right now. Sung Joon was just abnormally strong. Another thought hit Daehyun, making him widen his eyes in fear. What if Sung Joon hurt, or even killed Youngjae? If Youngjae continued to provoke Sung Joon… he wouldn't be able to handle the loss of his best friend, not to mention that it would've been because of him.

“Then I'll make you.” Youngjae came a few steps closer but then stopped, irritated by Sung Joon laughing. He frowned. “Do you think this is funny?”

“Do you honestly think you can threaten me?”

“I'm sure you haven't forgot who I am?”

“Such things don't matter here.” Sung Joon smirked. “If you're going to fight me, you should have at least eaten properly. You're still _dieting_?”  Chuckling, he bit down on Daehyun's neck, hard enough to make him bleed a little. 

“You bastard!” Within the blink of an eye, Youngjae was right in front of them and aimed at Sung Joon's face, who dodged the blow with ease while still managing to hold Daehyun tight. The counterattack made him tumble backwards.

“Don't even bother trying. We both know who's stronger.” 

“You wish.” Youngjae spat and steadied himself. 

Daehyun tried to say something but the words just wouldn't come out. Wasn't there something he could do to help Youngjae? He would have begged for Sung Joon to spare him but he couldn't make a simple sound. For the first time he wasn't worrying about his own life but about his friend's.

As if he had read Daehyun's mind, Sung Joon whispered: “You're worried about your friend, aren't you?” Daehyun shivered as he felt hot breath against his ear. “I'm sorry but it seems that I don't have a choice, I'll kill him and then we can continue what we've started.”

Daehyun wasn't going to let any of that happen. In a sudden trace of courage, he managed  to throw himself back against Sung Joon, which made tumble just a little. 

“You little sh –” He wasn't able to finish his words as Youngjae had used the short moment Sung Joon had let his guard down to struck him a blow that threw his head to the side. 

“Being strong doesn't help much when you don't pay attention.” he hissed and grabbed Daehyun. “Sorry but I'll have to be a little rough.” He smiled apologetically before he threw him over his shoulder and ran as fast as he could. 

D aehyun was somewhat baffled as he watched Sung Joon who had started to run after them being left behind. 

“Don't worry, he might be stronger but I'm faster. We'll be safe once we've left the park, he won't attack us where people could notice.” Youngjae sounded slightly out of breath but considering the speed he was running at and Daehyun's weight… 

“Am I really that unathletic or are you both not human?” he mumbled to himself, not noticing the frown on Youngjae's face. 

T hey reached the exit of the park sooner than Daehyun had expected. 

As Youngjae had predicted, Sung Joon stopped right there and didn't follow them any farther. “I'll find you and when I do, I'll break both of you to pieces!” he yelled after them. “Just wait for it!”  He then simply turned around and left. 

“He'll forget about you as soon as he's found another distraction, I wouldn't worry too much.” Youngjae tried to sound convincing as he let Daehyun down and untied his hands. 

“Shouldn't we report him or something?” Still rubbing his sore wrists, Daehyun looked back to the forest. “He killed a woman.” _And almost raped me_. It finally began to sink in that he was safe. Saved. “ Thank you. If you hadn't appeared…”

“You're welcome.” Youngjae smiled at him warmly. “Let's go home.”

“The woman…”

“Someone I know will take care of that.”

“But…”

“You need to rest, Daehyun.” Youngjae slightly nudged his nose. “You look as if you're about to collapse and I will definitely not carry you all the way home, you're damn heavy.” 

“I'm not.” Daehyun pouted but still followed Youngjae. Suddenly, he felt exhausted and it probably showed on his face. 

“You're okay?” Youngjae looked at him with concerned eyes.

“Tired.”

“See? I told you –”

“I know.” Daehyun grumbled. Such a know-it-all. Sometimes he hated to admit that Youngjae was right but he was to tired to talk back and quietly followed him home.

***

As soon as they had taken off their shoes, Daehyun threw himself onto the sofa in the living room. “I'm tired and hungry.” he complained.

Youngjae sighed softly. “I'll make you some food, wash up in the meanwhile.” He watched Daehyun disappear in the bathroom before he went into the kitchen and started to take out some ingredients out of the fridge.

While cooking, he found himself checking on the bathroom door more than once. He was very worried about Daehyun, even though he tried not to show it too much, it would only unsettle him more than he already was.

For probably the tenth time he cursed himself for not going looking for Daehyun earlier. He would have been able to spare him from some very traumatizing experiences. Daehyun pretended that he was fine but Youngjae knew better. He had noticed how Daehyun flinched at every unpredicted movement and how his eyes would sometimes widen in fear when he thought Youngjae wasn't paying attention. He seemed to suspect Sung Joon behind every corner, in every dark alley.

Youngjae neither judged Daehyun for being scared nor did he take his behaviour amiss. He knew the feeling of being completely helpless too well and he was also the kind of person who wouldn't want anyone else to know that he was struggling, especially when he cared about them. They were similar in this aspect; they quickly felt like a burden for needing help and they were to proud to ask for it. Yet Youngjae was determined to help Daehyun overcome this, not only because he was partially responsible for Sung Joon being in Seoul in the first place but also because Daehyun was his friend and he didn't want to see him suffer any more.

The problem was how he would take care of Sung Joon, who had been very serious about getting back at them, even though he had told Daehyun not to worry about him, a useless attempt to reassure him. Daehyun wasn't naive enough to believe that it was over just like this. He might have only met Sung Joon today but he had already experienced what kind of man he was.

However, despite being generally smart, Youngjae had no idea how to solve this problem. He knew for a fact that he was weaker than Sung Joon, so fighting him openly wasn't an option. He also had no allies who would help him with this, they just discarded bodies etc. to make sure no one would notice anything.

And there he had another problem. How much did Daehyun know? Sung Joon had comfortably mentioned the mark but he didn't care about being caught anyway, so he didn't know for sure whether Daehyun knew something or not. However, Daehyun wasn't stupid, he would at least suspect that something was weird, Youngjae supposed, unless he had been too scared to understand anything they had said, which was just wishful thinking.

“Dinner's ready!” he yelled in the direction of the bathroom door that immediately sprung open, revealing a freshly showered Daehyun in pyjamas.

He basically sprinted towards the kitchen as if Youngjae was going to eat everything on his own if he didn't hurry. That reaction was so normal that Youngjae almost would have missed the redness in Daehyun's eyes. He had obviously been crying, though he yet again pretended that everything was fine.

“Slowly, you'll knock over the table or something.” Youngjae chuckled, knowing that Daehyun would be uncomfortable that Youngjae had noticed his crying.

“I won't, I’m not an idiot.” Daehyun huffed. “Besides, the two of us can barely move the table together. I'm not heavy enough to make it move with my weight alone.” Which was exactly why Youngjae had bought that table. Daehyun sure was clumsy.

“So how are you feeling?” Youngjae asked carefully once they had sat down and Daehyun started to devour the food Youngjae had made.

“Not too bad, I guess.” Daehyun grimaced. “He bit my neck pretty hard, there's a small wound and it'll probably bruise too but other than that I'm fine.”

“That's a relief.” Youngjae smiled. _Liar._ How could Daehyun still not know that he was like an open book to him, after how long they have spent together.

They sat a few minutes in silence until Daehyun had eaten up the large amount of food at an incredible speed. His stomach was a bottomless pit.

“So… Uhm...” Daehyun hesitated.

Youngjae knew what he was going to ask but he failed to make up an answer within this short amount of time. It wasn't often that he was at a loss for words.

“How do you know Sung Joon?” Daehyun looked at him, a mixture of curiosity and slight fear in his eyes.

“Well...” Now how was he going to explain that?


	4. Chapter 4

“Well...” Youngjae hesitated, obviously trying to make something up.

“Please don't lie to me about this.” Daehyun frowned. He needed to know what their relation was and, although he probably wouldn't believe that even when the other would point a knife at him, whether he had to fear Youngjae. Birds of a feather flock together after all and if he was involved with a guy like Sung Joon… “Just tell me the truth.”

“We...” Youngjae hesitated again. “We often hung out when we were children.”

Daehyun couldn't see any hints that he was lying but something was weird about the way Youngjae's eyes seemed to darken every time he had talked about Sung Joon so far. “So you're childhood friends?”

Youngjae laughed bitterly. “I wouldn't exactly call us friends.”

“Then what?” Daehyun frowned when Youngjae didn't answer. “What exactly are you two?” His voice trembled a little. He couldn't stand it when someone didn't get to the point. It made him nervous because in 99% of the cases that meant the other person was trying to hide something.

“Our families knew each other quite well.”

“How?”

“Um...” Another moment of reluctance. “They run a hospital together.”

“A hospital?” Daehyun raised an eyebrow. He had known that Youngjae wasn't poor but that he was rich was unexpected. “So you're a medical student because you're going to take it over when your father retires?”

Youngjae shook his head. “My older brother probably will. Sung Joon is the same age but he had some problems and his family cut ties with him.”

“What kind of problems? Damn, Youngjae, don't make me ask for every single detail. I need to know everything to make sure that...” He interrupted himself. It would be a little rude to call his saviour a potential threat but he couldn't help it. Anyone would be scared and less trusting after such an experience.

“Drugs, armed robbery… I think he got involved with a gang or so.” Youngjae gritted his teeth. “I was the one who told his parents.”  
“So he hates you because of that.” That made sense. Still, Daehyun couldn't get rid of the feeling that Youngjae wasn't telling the whole truth. “Do you regret it?”

“No, of course not. You wouldn't believe it but he's better now than he was back then.” Youngjae said with a slight chuckle. “He's just always been an asshole.”

“Then why do you look weird every time you talk about him?” He wasn't going to point that out but if the other didn't want to tell him he didn't have another option.

Youngjae frowned. “Aren't you tired?”

His voice sent shivers down Daehyun's spine. It was more like a growl. Maybe he had gone a little too far. “I– Yes, I am.” He abruptly stood up, trying to ignore his shaking legs. This wasn't the Youngjae he knew. This was the Youngjae he had seen in the forest. On wobbling legs he stumbled towards the bedroom.

Youngjae grabbed his wrist. “Daehyun, I'm sorry. I didn't want to scare you but Sung Joon is a sensitive topic. Just give me some time, okay?” Daehyun nodded and he let go. “I'm sorry.” he repeated. “I usually have better self control.”

Daehyun's heart beat was rapid. “I'm fine.” He managed to smile at Youngjae. So there was something he needed to control. He wasn't only kind.

“Let's go to sleep.” Youngjae smiled as well. However, he still seemed a little wary.

Or maybe Daehyun was just too tired. Yes, it was probably just that. He was too tired to properly judge the other's behaviour. Youngjae must be stressed too after what had happened, not only Daehyun.

They walked into their shared bedroom. Daehyun's bed was next to the window, Youngjae's close to the wall. Apart from the two beds and some wardrobes and bookshelfs, the room was pretty much empty. They studied in separate rooms so they wouldn't interrupt each other's concentration and thanks to the fact that Daehyun was a cleaning maniac the whole apartment was very tidy and clean.

“I'll go wash up.” Youngjae quickly grabbed fresh pyjamas and went to the bathroom, leaving Daehyun alone in the room that suddenly seemed much bigger.

He had already noticed this when he had been in the bathroom earlier but following the events of this night he seemed unable to cope with loneliness. He had never been the kind of person who needed to have others around all the time. In fact, he usually enjoyed his lonely-time. But now, he felt as if something was eyeing him from every corner of the room. It was as if he was back to the forest.

“I'm at home. Safe.” he whispered to himself however did not calm down.

Everything had been fine as long as he had been with Youngjae, not even his little emotional outburst had scared Daehyun as much.   
Although he rationally knew that it was just his room and Youngjae was right in the next one, his body had apparently decided that this was the right time to show him that his shortening reflexes didn't work like were supposed to. Normally, the blood flow towards his legs would increase and he'd get an adrenaline rush so that he'd be able to run away. Instead all the strength, of which he didn't possess very much to begin with, left his body. Luckily, he had stood right next to Youngjae's bed so he just fell down onto it.

He tried to stand up but his limbs didn't budge. “Move!” he commanded his legs, though very quietly because it felt odd to be talking with himself out loud. It felt as if something was physically hindering him to move, pinning him down to the bed. There were strong hands gripping his wrists with so much force that it hurt. Panic rushed over him as he felt his chest area tighten. He had trouble breathing. Was he paralysed? Sung Joon could have poisoned him or something.   
Daehyun knew that he was being unreasonable but his instincts told him that he was in incredible danger. Even the shadows seemed to crawl over the walls towards him.

“Young-” He didn't manage to get the word out. His voice was too hoarse.

Next, he felt his throat tighten. Great, so now he would be lying on the bed, completely vulnerable and crying when Youngjae would come back. What a glorious sight. He sobbed silently. Why was he so damn helpless?

“Oh my god, Daehyun!”   
He grimaced at Youngjae who had just re-entered the room. “I-” Daehyun was planning on making a really good joke so that he wouldn't seem as pathetic but again, his voice seemed to have other plans. Instead of the joke, a loud sob escaped his mouth.

“Everything will be fine.” Youngjae slightly lifted Daehyun's upper body as he hugged him tightly. He just hugged him for a few more minutes until Daehyun had calmed down, not saying a word and Daehyun was grateful for that.

The other's presence was comforting but he still felt embarrassed for crying in front of him.

With a slight tug, he signalled Youngjae to let go of him. He instantly missed his warmth. “I- We should go to sleep, it's already late.”

When he tried to rise from the bed Youngjae shoved him back into the pillows. “Just stay there, you just were about to pass out. We can switch beds for a night.”

Daehyun nodded, to tired to say anything and buried himself in the countless pillows, inhaling Youngjae's scent.

“Good night.” Youngjae pressed a small peck on his temple before lying down himself. Daehyun couldn't help but blush a little.

“Night.” he mumbled and turned around so that he faced the wall. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, trying to blend the pair of eyes on him out.


	5. Chapter 5

“Good morning, sleeping beauty.”

Daehyun groaned when Youngjae pulled at his blanket and gripped it tightly. “Go away.” he mumbled. “Just a few more minutes.”

“You're going to be late for your courses.”

That sentence had Daehyun sit up within the blink of an eye, only to slump back into the sheets when realizing it was Saturday.

Youngjae chuckled. “You fall for this every time.” He slightly nudged Daehyun's shoulder. “Get up now.”

“Yes, mum.” Daehyun rolled his eyes. He slowly raised himself and walked towards his closet to get new clothes but stopped when he felt Youngjae's eyes follow his every movement. “Is something wrong?”

Youngjae shrugged. “No, why?”

“You've been staring.”

Being caught red-handed, Youngjae's eyes widened slightly. “I was checking whether you're okay, I mean...”

“I am.” Daehyun interrupted. “I'm totally fine. You don't need to worry about me.”

“Yeah, I noticed that last night.” Youngjae mumbled, just loud enough for Daehyun to hear, who flinched upon these words. Sighing, Youngjae walked up to him and ruffled his hear. “I'm sorry. Just give me some time to get over what happened yesterday. Encounters with Sung Joon always get me quite emotional.”

Daehyun gulped. “I understand.”

“Please, don't be scared of me.” Hurt was obvious in Youngjae's voice. “I would never hurt you, even when...” He avoided the other's gaze. “even on bad days.”

Daehyun raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Youngjae didn't want to talk about it and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He trusted his room mate after all. He just needed to. “So…” he mentally prepared for being laughed at. “when will you go to the gym next time?” He knew Youngjae had a membership but he rarely went there because he thought his studies were more important than the body he wouldn't show to anyone anyway, as he had stated himself.

“Are you calling me fat?”

And he had thought only women were this petty. “No, actually...” he blushed a little. “I wanted to go with you.” Shifting on his feet, uncomfortable under Youngjae's amused look he started to regret the promise he gave himself in the forest but he knew he had to work out to be able to protect himself and he didn't want to go to the gym by himself. He didn't want to be alone.

“ _You_ want to work out?”

Daehyun's face was bright red as he nodded shyly.

“Well...” Youngjae chuckled. “We could go today, if you want to. I don't have much time on weekdays but today should be fine.”

“That'd be great.”

 

***

In fact, it was like hell.

His whole body ached as if he had been hit by a truck, he felt dizzy and his clothes were drenched in sweat. “I need a break.” he moaned.

Youngjae approved. “You should have taken it a little bit easier for the first time.” He had worked out almost twice as hard but didn't seem nearly as tired. “Let's go wash up.”

“No,” Daehyun refused “I'm not done yet, I'll just take a short break.” He didn't want to give up so soon, especially when Youngjae wasn't even tired. Though the other of course knew that he wasn't as sportive as he was pretending to be, he didn't want to make it too obvious.

Frowning, Youngjae shook his head. “You look like you're about to pass out, we'll stop for today.” Daehyun opened his mouth but Youngjae shushed him. “I'm a medical student, trust me to know what's best for you.”

He walked off to the showers, Daehyun following him, defeated. If Youngjae didn't want him to continue, he would probably drag him out of the gym. He was damn stubborn.

Youngjae didn't hesitate to take of his clothes and jump under the shower, while Daehyun sat in the corner pretending to be untying his shoes. He hated group showers. With how much a membership cost, one might think that gyms would be able to afford shower cubicles.

“Not going to shower?” Youngjae chuckled. “I don't bite, you know.”

Daehyun blushed. He wasn't usually very shy about his body or looks in general but everything seemed different since the previous day. “Coming.” he mumbled and proceeded to undress. He then chose the shower that was the farthest away and started washing.

Youngjae chuckled again but didn't say anything. Daehyun couldn't help but glance in his direction a few times while he was washing himself until he noticed something. “You've got a tattoo?” A round ornament decorated Youngjae's left shoulder blade. He couldn't make out any details though.

“Oh, right, you didn't know.” Youngjae grinned sheepishly. “I got one during my rebellious phase.” He slightly turned around so that Daehyun could see the tattoo better.

Curiously, Daehyun stepped a little closer, forgetting that they were completely nude. “Is that some kind of writing?”

“Honestly, I don't know. They had all kind of designs, I just picked something that looked good.”

“Like those people wearing tattoos like “bureau” in Chinese letters?” Laughing softly, Daehyun traced the tattoo with his index finger. It definitely was pretty but also kind of mysterious. “I expected more from a smart medical student like you.”

Youngjae shivered as he felt the cold finger on his back. “Everyone has bad days.”

Daehyun hummed and took a step back, only to let his eyes wander about the other's body. Youngjae was indeed beautiful, not only his face but also his body was like a sculpture. Despite the fact that he didn't work out very frequently, his muscles were nicely toned and his proportions just right. His gaze started to wander south until Youngjae cleared his throat.

“Done staring?” He smirked. “Like what you see?” Although he pretended to be very confident, he shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

Daehyun blushed. “Well...” Unable to continue looking at the other, he stared at the floor. He hadn't meant to stare but sometimes he felt himself being magically drawn towards the other, even more so since yesterday. Unfortunately Youngjae was too bright not to notice.

Upon seeing Daehyun speechless, Youngjae laughed, slightly blushing as well. “I was joking. Hurry up now.” He then hastily left the shower for the changing rooms, leaving a baffled Daehyun behind.

Daehyun exhaled sharply, still trying to grasp whatever had just happened. Ever since Youngjae had appeared in the forest, something about him had changed. He had become somewhat scarier but also a lot more intriguing. It was becoming quite difficult for Daehyun to guess what Youngjae was thinking, though he had never been particularly good at that. The other tended to be a little secretive, especially when Daehyun asked about his childhood and family. It could be because of the Sung Joon thing but was that really it? There was so little Daehyun knew about Youngjae's life before and outside of their apartment. To be honest, it bugged him that he didn't even know about the tattoo. Sure, it was in a place that was mostly hidden beneath clothes but still… They had even discussed tattoos when Daehyun had been thinking about getting one, why hadn't Youngjae mentioned his? It couldn't be that he was that embarrassed about it, right? And even if that was indeed the case, weren't they friends? The more Daehyun thought about how little he knew about him, the more insecure he became. He hadn't noticed it before but judging by what he knew about him, they could as well just acquaintances. In contrast to that, Youngjae knew almost everything there was to know about him. Daehyun trusted his friend, why didn't Youngjae return his trust even the slightest? Maybe he was thinking too much into this but he was becoming suspicious of Youngjae yet trusted him blindly. It was a paradox. He was definitely going to try to find out more about Youngjae. There must be a reason why the other hid something from him.

 

***

The room was full of awkwardness.

Every time Daehyun met eyes with Youngjae, he was reminded of what had happened in the shower room earlier, which made his face turn into a bright red, while Youngjae seemed to be lost in thought. He had been a little distant ever since Daehyun had returned from the shower, making sure not to walk to close beside Daehyun, only giving short answers when Daehyun talked to him. Even now he was sitting on the opposite end of the couch as they were watching TV, or rather staring at the screen.

Daehyun tried to come up with a way to start a conversation with the other but the image of his naked body was hindering him. His thoughts jumped from Youngjae in the shower to Youngjae in the forest and finally to Youngjae yesterday night. He had experienced many new facets of the person named Yoo Youngjae within just one day and he was unsure how to deal with them. And with himself. He was still confused and scared, which wasn't very helpful when trying to figure something out. The only thing he currently was certain of was that he would trust Youngjae with his life and also needed him, although maybe he shouldn't.

Youngjae snapped out of his thoughts. “It's late.” he remarked. “We should go to bed.”

Nodding, Daehyun turned the TV off. When he stood up, a groan slipped out of his mouth.

“Sore muscles?” Youngjae patted his shoulder but quickly retreated his hand. “I told you you should have taken it easier.”

Daehyun simply shrugged. He wasn't going to prove Youngjae right by whining about how badly his muscles hurt.

“You're acting tough right now but the second day always hurts the most.” Youngjae smiled smugly.

Daehyun rolled his eyes at Youngjae's know-it-all-attitude. “Yeah, I know, I'm going to regret not listening to you and everything.”

“You will.”

“You wish.” Daehyun huffed and stomped towards the bedroom, Youngjae following right behind him.

Luckily, they already were ready for bed. Daehyun probably wouldn't be able to move his arms enough to change his clothes, not that he would ever admit it.

Daehyun immediately let himself fall onto his bed and crawled under the sheets. “Goodnight.” he mumbled, quickly closing his eyes shut to avoid Youngjae's piercing gaze.

“Sleep well.” Youngjae turned the lights off. His bed creaked as he lay down.

About an hour had passed with Daehyun trying to fall asleep until he suddenly heard Youngjae's bed creak again. Then he felt him sit beside him. He didn't move pretending to be asleep.

Sighing, Youngjae first stroked his hair, then caressed his cheek. Daehyun almost would have leaned into his touch but managed to stay still. The other buried his face in the crook of his neck and took a few deep breaths before sighing once again.

“Why do you keep tempting me, Daehyun?” he whispered, just loud enough for Daehyun to hear.


	6. Chapter 6

“So, do you have plans for today?” Youngjae asked after they had finished their breakfast. It had been awkward as Daehyun didn't know how to act around Youngjae and Youngjae still made sure there was some distance between them, just enough so that it wasn't too obvious.

“I still need to write an essay.” Daehyun faked annoyance. “The prof already hates me, so I'll have to do this properly. You're going to your study group, right?”

Youngjae nodded hesitantly. “I can stay here if you want me to though.”

“Oh, well, I mean...” Daehyun blushed at the thought that the other would cancel something quite important just to take care of him. However he quickly shook his head. “I don't think that's necessary.”

“Are you sure?” Doubt was written all over Youngjae's face.

“I'm better, don't worry.” Daehyun tried to sound as convincing as possible whereas he himself wasn't too convinced but he needed Youngjae to leave for a while. That way he would be able to take a closer look at Youngjae's belongings. He felt bad about even thinking to do this behind the other's back but it would calm himself, in case he wouldn't find anything suspicious of course.

Youngjae frowned slightly. “Well...” he hesitated, “call me when something happens. I can come back any time.”

“Sure.” Daehyun flashed his brightest smile at him. “I'll be fine though.”

The other only nodded slowly, probably not believing a word he said.

“You should get going soon.” Daehyun smiled again. “I'll clean this up.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Youngjae stood up. After grabbing his bag, he made his way towards the front door. He turned around once again. “You'll call?”

“I already said I would.” Daehyun huffed, pretending to be annoyed by the other's overly protective behaviour, whereas he was actually flattered. He liked the thought of being someone Youngjae wanted to take care of more than he'd ever admit to anyone but himself. Starting to clean up the table, he turned his back at the other to hide his blush, hiding a groan because his muscles were still sore.

“Right.” Youngjae smiled a little as if to tell himself everything was fine. “Bye.”

Daehyun returned his “bye” quietly and stood frozen until he heard the front door open and close again. He sighed as he placed the dishes in the sink. It was now or never. Youngjae would be gone for a few hours.

With slow steps, he walked towards the bedroom. He was still hesitant to rummage through the other's stuff but he would only continue to be restless and awkward around him if he didn't do this now. “It's Youngjae's fault for hiding something anyway.” he mumbled to himself in an attempt to quiet his bad conscience, successfully.

The first thing that captured his attention was Youngjae's wardrobe but after only finding tons of clothes (seriously, why did he need so many when he always wore the same five shirts?), he turned towards the book shelf.

It was unlikely though that Youngjae would hide something there because he knew well that Daehyun liked to read his books once in a while. He would spend hours questioning Youngjae about things he didn't quite understand or found interesting. Maybe Daehyun should have studied something science related, as he did find these things very interesting but then again, he loved music and singing more than anything else. He let his eyes wander over the backs of the books. There were a few titles that seemed unfamiliar but Youngjae often bought new books.

Next, he inspected Youngjae's bed, ignoring the slight feeling of discomfort. He needed to distract himself to keep the anxiety away. There was nothing under his bed, so he lifted the mattress and in fact there was something. An A5 book, rather thin. A diary maybe? He grabbed the book and put the mattress back in place.

Sitting down on the bed, Daehyun eyed the book suspiciously. It didn't have a title or a picture as a cover, it was only bound in dark leather. On the first page there was a drawn symbol. A very familiar symbol. He traced the lines with his index finger as he had done the previous day.

So much for just picking something that looked good. Youngjae had lied straight to his face without batting an eye. The realization hurt more than he had thought. Suddenly he wished he hadn't searched Youngjae's stuff. Suspecting him was one thing, finding out that his suspicions were true was something else. He had hoped not to find anything.

He flipped through the pages with shaking hands. His chest felt tight.

The pages were full of the same characters that were also part of the symbol. So he had been right about it being a scripture. He had never seen anything like this. There were no pictures, just pages full of words he couldn't read

Why did Youngjae own such a book? Could he actually read this?

Completely focused on studying the strange characters, he brought the book closer to his face. Suddenly it was yanked out of his hands. Startled, he looked up at a very angry Youngjae.

“So that was it, you wanted me to leave so that you can snoop around? I came back to see whether you're okay and you sift through my stuff?”

Daehyun gulped but didn't give in to the urge to move back. After all, the other owed him some answers too.

“Do you mistrust me that much all of a sudden?”

“If you didn't hide things from me, I wouldn't have to.” Daehyun spat.

“So everything is my fault?” Youngjae was clearly trying to contain his anger but wasn't doing a very good job. Red face, a pulsating vein on his forehead and clenched fists. He looked like he was about to hit Daehyun, who was scared as hell but still didn't back down.

“Why did you lie to me about the tattoo? Why didn't you tell me the truth about Sung Joon? Why do you never tell me anything about you?” Daehyun's voice got louder with every question. “Isn't it actually you who mistrusts me?”  
Youngjae pressed his lips into a thin line, holding back a reply.

“Like, seriously, I've almost been raped and you expect me to blindly trust everyone? I have every right and reason to be careful!”

“Not everyone.” Youngjae said very quietly. “Just me.”

“And why?” Daehyun was frustrated. Couldn't he just get one simple, truthful answer? “How are you different from Sung Joon or any other person I've ever met on the streets?”

“We're friends?” Youngjae's voice was full of disbelief. “You know me, I…”

“No, I don't!” Daehyun interrupted, “I don't really know anything about you because you won't tell me a fucking thing!”

Youngjae flinched at that. “I have reasons for that! You could at least try to understand me!”

“I did.” Daehyun sounded almost desperate. “I really did.” He wanted to punch Youngjae in the face but at the same time craved his warmth. “I tried so hard but…” His voice cracked and he looked down, hoping the other wouldn't see his tears.

Youngjae's gaze softened. He was about to pull Daehyun into a hug but stopped in the middle of his movements, instead taking a step back and creating a wider distance between them, again. He looked down at the book he was still holding, then back at Daehyun. His face was stern as he spoke up after a few moments of silence. “Don't ever touch this book again.”

“What is it about?” Daehyun couldn't hide his curiosity, even though he was still sobbing a little. He wanted this fight to end but he couldn't help it. If he didn't ask Youngjae now, he probably never would.

“I don't know, I can't read it.”

He dug deeper. “You got that symbol tattooed. Must be something personal?” He only earned a frown and a frustrated sigh. “What language is this?” Again, no answer. “What are you trying to hide?” He tried to read the other's face. It was as if he was looking at a statue.

There were no emotions at all, even the anger had left Youngjae's face. His eyes were focused on a point on the wall, somewhere behind Daehyun.

“Stop ignoring me!” Forget hugging Youngjae, Daehyun really only wanted to punch him right now. “Since yesterday you've been doing that!”

Youngjae turned slightly to look at him. “Doing what?”

“You're creating a distance!”  
“I don't.” Youngjae claimed flatly. He was avoiding Daehyun's look.

“You're doing it right now!” Daehyun stood up, ignoring the pain shooting through his sore muscles at the sudden movement and took a step forward, so that his face was only a few centimetres away from Youngjae's. He hadn't wanted to bring this up because he still didn't know what to make out of this but he figured that it was the only way to get a reaction. “How am I tempting you exactly?”

Youngjae flinched at these words. “I thought you were sleeping.” he barely managed to say, not daring to look at the other.

"Answer me.” Daehyun demanded firmly, although he felt as if he was about to collapse into Youngjae's arms.

“I can't.”

He was tired of hearing this. Grabbing Youngjae's shoulders he tried to turn the other around and push him onto the bed to underline his frustration, only to end up beneath Youngjae with his arms pinned above his head.

Youngjae was breathing heavily, clearly struggling with his self control. He looked like a predator, like Sung Joon…

Panic rushed over Daehyun given that he was in the same position as in the forest. He felt tears streaming down his face before he could do anything to fight them.

Youngjae immediately let go of his wrists and instead leant down to wrap his arms around his body. “I'm sorry.” he repeated over and over against Daehyun's neck like a mantra, making him shiver.

“You keep saying that but it keeps on happening.” Daehyun finally said after he had calmed down.

“I'm sorry.” Youngjae grimaced slightly, face still buried in Daehyun's neck. “I'm kind of imbalanced lately but I'll try to control it better.”

“Imbalanced? Because of your diet?” he remembered what Sung Joon had said. “You're eating normally though.”

Youngjae looked up at him with a frown. “What did Sung Joon tell you?”

Daehyun saw the chance and he took it. “Everything.”

“You're lying.” There was a hint of insecurity in Youngjae's eyes. “You wouldn't have behaved as you did if you knew.”

“I wanted to hear it from you, that's why I pretended I didn't know.”

“You can't fool me, you've always been a bad liar.” Youngjae let out a relieved sigh. He sighed again when he felt Daehyun staring wholes through him. “Seriously, I can't tell you. You wouldn't want to know anyway.”

“I do.” Daehyun wasn't going to give up. The other was tired from fighting, he would likely give in some time soon.

Indeed, it only took ten more minutes of questioning and being as persistent as possible until Youngjae was finally too annoyed to resist anymore.

“Fine, I'll tell you…”

 


	7. Chapter 7

“I'm not human.”

“What?” Somewhat dumbfounded Daehyun tilted his head and frowned at the other. “You're joking, right?”

“Of course.” Youngjae laughed, making Daehyun's mouth drop open. “What were you thinking?”

“Don't mess with me, Yoo Youngjae!” Pouting, Daehyun hit the other's shoulder. “I seriously want to know what's going on with you.”

“Nothing.” Youngjae chuckled. “It's nothing. I'm simply a bit more stressed, that's all.”

“You're lying.”

“And you're annoyingly persistent.” He raised an eyebrow. “Fine, I'll answer you some questions but if I say I can't tell you, you'll have to accept that. How about that? I swear I'll answer truthfully.”

Daehyun nodded hesitantly. At least he'd get some answers. That was better than nothing. “Where did you get the book from?”  
“I inherited it. My family owned it for ages.”

“What is it about?”

“I can't tell you.”

“But you can read it, huh. What is the meaning of the symbol? Why did you get it tattooed?”

“I can't tell you exactly but my family has been using it as a crest.”

“Your family has its own crest?” Daehyun blurted out. “Is that a thing rich people do?”

Youngjae chuckled softly. “Arrogant rich people do.”

“So you're from an arrogant family?”

Youngjae showed off his most arrogant smirk. “You only noticed that now?”

Daehyun snorted. “No, I always knew that. Next question; did you tell me the whole truth about Sung Joon?”

“Finally asking tricky questions, huh?” Youngjae mumbled to himself but still loud enough for Daehyun to hear. He couldn't avoid that question like he could avoid the previous ones. A “ _can't tell you_ ”would automatically mean no and he had promised not to lie. “I might have left some details out but you know the basic storyline.” he finally answered after having to think about what to say for a few moments.

Daehyun hummed in approval. Although he still didn't really get answers to his questions, at least the other kept his promise and started to regain his trust a little bit. “So… was it really only a joke that you're not human?” He winked at the other. It was an attempt to brighten up the mood as Youngjae's expression had somewhat darkened a little at the mention of Sung Joon but for some reason, his expression became even darker. It wasn't possible though. At least that was what he had thought. However, both Sung Joon and Youngjae were superhumanly strong and beautiful, although a different kind of beautiful. Whereas Sung Joon had this beast like appearance, Youngjae seemed more like a royal or something like that. It wouldn't even be too surprising if they weren't human. Also it would explain why the other didn't want to tell him about his personal life or anything. Wouldn't supernatural creatures have something like a rule not to tell anyone to protect there species? At least they usually had that in books. He raised an eyebrow as Youngjae didn't answer. “Shouldn't that be an easy question? Or…”

One could literally see Youngjae fighting his conscience that wanted to keep his promise of not lying and the instinct to protect himself. “I can't answer that.” It was only a whisper as all strength seemed to have left Youngjae but that sentence was answer enough.

Daehyun tried to put together the few pieces of information he had at that moment. Inhuman strength and beauty, some sort of mark, Youngjae was “imbalanced”, as he had called it and weaker because he wasn't eating what he should… And Daehyun was tempting him, maybe because he was hungry? “Oh my god, are you a vampire?” he blurted out.

Youngjae's facial expression was somewhere between an amused smile and a worried frown. “No, I don't think so.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Daehyun raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn't you _know_ what exactly you are?”

“Well...” Youngjae chuckled softly. “from what I know, vampires don't exist.”

“But whatever you are is similar to what humans consider as vampires?”

He grimaced. “I can't tell you. Seriously, you already know way too much for your own good.”

Daehyun mimicked the other's facial expression. He still wasn't too sure what to make of this. It did make sense at that moment but he would have never suspected that. To be fair, he didn't suspect there were supernatural beings at all. Suddenly remembering the previous night, he leaned closer towards Youngjae until their shoulders touched. He tilted his head to expose his neck. Maybe it was a bit risky but he was too curious to end the conversation at his point. The only creatures he knew about were werewolves and vampires but of course he couldn't assume that humans knew about them if they stayed hidden all the time. He needed to know what Youngjae was.

Youngjae inhaled sharply and tried to move away but Daehyun followed his movements and made sure to maintain body contact. “Why are you doing this?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“I just want to know what you are.” Daehyun smirked a little. It was actually quite a powerful feeling to know that he had this effect on the other, though he was playing with fire. Youngjae might just snap and attack him. Though for now, his self control seemed okay.

“Outsiders can't know anything.” Youngjae tried to move again once more, until he was trapped between Daehyun and the wall. “Please, I don't want to.” He closed his eyes shut and turned his head away, slightly blushing.

“What do you not want?” Daehyun chuckled a little. The other was really cute when he was this desperate. “Don't you want to eat?”

A desperate shake of the head was the answer.

“You can eat normal food but you also need something else, right?” He couldn't give up just like this. He was too close and he didn't want to end up questioning Youngjae for another two hours on another day just because he was a little uncomfortable to basically invite him to eat him.

“You're going too far, Jung Daehyun!”

“Just tell me already!” Daehyun whined. “I won't tell anyone, I swear. You can't end this on a cliffhanger!”

“Cliffhanger?” Youngjae chuckled a little, then he sighed loudly. “You're going to get me into serious trouble.” Unexpectedly, he leaned towards Daehyun, wrapped his arms around him and pressed his lips against the other pair.

A startled gasp escaped Daehyun's mouth. He tried to move away but somehow couldn't. He felt way too comfortable to fight the pleasant warmth that was Youngjae's hug. Instead he leaned closer, slightly moaning as the other started to suck on his lower lip. His eyes fluttered closed and his mind went blank from pleasure. It was nothing like what he had ever experienced. The few kisses he had had weren't bad, of course, but they couldn't compare to this feeling. Youngjae, seeming to know exactly how to draw out these soft moans, smiled at every sound he made and then proceeded to give him even more pleasure.

Although Daehyun never wanted the kiss to end, he pulled away after a while because he felt he might pass out if this went on any longer. Breathless and with flushed cheeks, he raised an eyebrow at the other. “What was that?” he barely managed to ask.

“You wanted to know, didn't you?” Youngjae looked away, his face bright red.

“You feed on kisses?”

“No, it's just an effective way to draw out someone's qi.” He turned his head even farther away from Daehyun.

“You'll snap your neck.” Daehyun joked. “Qi is this energy thing, right?”

Youngjae nodded. “Our species doesn't naturally produce qi, that's why we need to… well… We don't die without it, we're just a little weaker, so, you know, I don't really like to do this because…”

“Are you embarrassed?” Daehyun chuckled. “You don't need to, you're a really good kisser, I mean…” He mentally cursed himself for making a fool out of himself once again. That wasn't what he had meant to say and it probably wasn't very comforting for Youngjae as well.

Sighing, Youngjae leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. “I controlled my hunger for years and you just…”

“Sorry.” Daehyun mumbled. He could tell that Youngjae wasn't too confident about this whole feeding/kissing thing, though he didn't have any idea why as he could probably do this to anyone and no one would object. At least Daehyun wouldn't if the other wanted to do it again. After a few minutes of awkward silence, he spoke up again. “Why didn't you eat for so long?”

Hesitantly, Youngjae looked at him, a stern expression on his face. “I killed someone.”

Daehyun's mouth formed an “oh” but no sound came out. This wasn't what he had expected but at the same time he wasn't too surprised. Not that he thought of the other as a killer but he did lose his self control at times.

“The most common way to feed would be to drink someone's blood. When I did that for the first time, I overdid it and she died.” Youngjae shuddered at the thought. “I just drank until nothing was left.”

Daehyun wanted to take his hand to comfort him but the other quickly pulled his hand away as if afraid of the touch.

“I couldn't bring myself to do it again. Then my brother suggested to use this 'alternative' method but that also didn't end well.”

“What happened?” Daehyun could see the pained expression Youngjae tried to hide but he didn't know how to help.

“I raped the first person and ended up killing him because he attacked me. The people after that managed to escape, they probably thought I was some molester.” Youngjae grimaced. “That's why I decided not to do this any more. It's not like I'd die.” He raised an eyebrow at Daehyun as if to warn him. “I might hurt you too if you continue to be this close to me. Since I just gave up on my self control, I don't know whether I'll be able to regain it.”

Daehyun gulped, not because he was scared but because the thought of Youngjae not eating, avoiding contact with people and being lonely saddened him. “I… You could… It would be fine with me if you…” he stuttered, his cheeks reddening again. He cleared his throat. “As long as you don't drink my blood, you can feed on me.”

Youngjae's mouth dropped open. “What?”

“I said as long as-”

He cut Daehyun off. “I know what you said but you can't be serious! I might actually hurt you!”

Daehyun shook his head. “I trust you. You didn't hurt me just now. Besides, wouldn't it make you more _balanced_ if you ate regularly?” He really wanted to help Youngjae and if that was what it took, he would gladly do it. Plus, though he would never openly admit it, he did like it.

“But…” The other was still hesitant. “What if you don't like it?” He was blushing, too embarrassed to talk about 'it'. “It just doesn't feel right to do this.”

“This isn't something shameful.” Daehyun tried to assure him. “If that's what you need, I'm completely fine with it.”

“And if I scare you so bad you never want to talk to me again?” Youngjae voiced his greatest fear. “I don't want to ruin our friendship. And even if I don't scare you, it'll become awkward.”

“We already kissed, so if it's not awkward now, it won't become awkward later.” Daehyun laughed softly. “And if you're gentle enough, I don't think I'll be scared. I wasn't very scared just now. Just don't grab my arms or something.” As Youngjae still didn't seem 100% convinced, though at least he seemed to be considering Daehyun's proposal, he cuddled up to the other and smiled assuringly. “See? I'm not scared at all.”

Youngjae hummed and wrapped his arm around Daehyun's waist, pulling him even closer.

Maybe that wasn't as bad as he had thought. At least they could try.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, Youngjae woke up first. Well, to be honest he always woke up first. However, this day it was different. He didn't woke up because of the sunrise or because of the birdsong. In fact, he had slept through all of this. He hadn't slept this well in years.

With mixed feelings he looked down at the boy lying next to him. He couldn't deny the fact that he wanted Daehyun more than anything he had ever wanted before. Not only did he smell and taste great, which was the main reason to be honest, he also managed to make Youngjae feel safe, though he wished it would be the opposite. He had always felt somewhat protective over Daehyun. That feeling had become stronger after what had happened with Sung Joon, naturally and so had the fear of hurting him. Daehyun was way too fragile. He feared that he would break him easily if he stayed too close but at the same time he didn't want to leave his side. He also hadn't been able to turn down the other's offer because that was exactly what he had always wanted ever since they had met, even though he was scared. He couldn't go back at this point. Having tasted Daehyun made him crave the other even more than before. Hopefully he would be able to control himself. If he hurt Daehyun, he would never be able to forgive himself.

“Daehyun, wake up.” He slightly shook the other's shoulder. “Your lessons will start soon.”

Groaning, Daehyun opened his eyes. “Already?”

“What do you mean, already? You slept for 10 hours or so.”

“Doesn't feel like it.” Confused, he looked up at Youngjae. “I never sleep this long though?”

“You were probably more tired than usual because you're not used to the qi withdrawal.”

“So I'll be exhausted all the time when you feed on me? What a bother.” he mumbled.

Youngjae chuckled. “Your body will get used to it after a while and produce additional qi, don't worry. Besides, it's too late to back out.” He licked his lips and leaned closer towards Daehyun, grinning at the light blush that crept over the other's cheeks. “Ready for breakfast?”

Daehyun blushed even more but still nodded. “Just make it quick, I shouldn't be late for my lessons.” He closed his eyes and waited for Youngjae to kiss him.

Laughing softly, Youngjae leaned back. “I was kidding.”

“What?” Daehyun opened his eyes and frowned.

“I'm fine with one meal per day and you don't want to be tired at university, right?” He stood up and walked towards the closet, leaving a baffled Daehyun behind, who sat up slowly on the bed. “You should get ready too.” he reminded him when he still didn't move.

“Right.” Daehyun seemed to be lost in thought. He was basically moving in slow motion, which he always did when he was thinking about something.

“What are you thinking about?” Youngjae asked curiously.

“Huh?”

“Never mind.” He laughed softly. Daehyun was quite cute when he was like this. “Here, get dressed.” He threw clothes at the other. Actually, both were still wearing what they had worn the previous day. After he had fed on him, Daehyun had fallen asleep quickly and he hadn't felt like leaving him for even a few minutes to change his clothes.

The clothes hit Daehyun straight in the face. He managed to catch them shortly before they fell down. “What was that for?” he huffed.

“Nothing.” Youngjae grinned mischievously. “Just hurry up.”

“Yes, mum.” Daehyun muttered but did as he was told anyway. It wasn't like he could afford to skip his lessons after all.

Both continued to get ready in silence. They hadn't enough time to cook breakfast as Youngjae had overslept, so they were going to buy something on their way to university. There was a small bakery just before they had to take different roads to get to their respective university.

“I'll walk you all the way. My courses start a little bit later today.”

“You don't have to.” Daehyun said shyly, however it was obvious that he was grateful. It was the first time since the incident that he would be outside of their apartment on his own and he seemed to be nervous about that. At least he would postpone the point in time from where on he would be alone.

“It's fine.” Youngjae smiled, pretending he didn't notice any of Daehyun's feelings. It was more comfortable that way for both of them. “I don't have anything else to do anyway.”

Daehyun hummed in response.

 

***

Youngjae still had two courses ahead of him when he decided to go home. He couldn't really be bothered with studying at the moment. Even the previous hours he hadn't been able to focus on what the professors had been saying, so he figured it wouldn't make much of a difference if he was physically present or not, since his thoughts were somewhere else, at another university to be precise.

He just couldn't help wondering how Daehyun was doing. Preferably, the other should have stayed at home where he was safe but he had to prepare for his exams that he needed to pass in order to not lose his scholarship. Youngjae gladly would have paid for everything he needed, however the mention of money alone would hurt Daehyun's pride. Even if he would fail the exam, he would never accept money from Youngjae. He would rather leave the university. If that wouldn't mean he would have to move back to his foster _parents_ , one couldn't even call them parents to be honest, Youngjae would have been fine with that because that meant he didn't have to go outside anymore.

Besides the fact that Youngjae didn't want him to leave, he sincerely wished Daehyun would pass, simply because he loved singing and it was his dream to become a singer. He had an angelic voice, was musically talented and hard-working, no one would argue that he deserved to pass. The only problem were his exam nerves. Singing on stages in clubs didn't pose the slightest problem, he had an amazing stage presence too, but as soon as he was going to be graded, he choked on his words and his voice started to crack. Youngjae had tried to help him by started to grade his singing so that he would get used to it or by talking about what might have caused this since being afraid of being graded/judged wasn't a natural fear, there must have been something that happened when he was younger that had caused this, but since he wasn't a psychotherapist, it didn't do much and Daehyun refused to go to an actual psychotherapist as that would be way too expensive. Youngjae could only hope he would somehow overcome his fear. Otherwise, the endless hours of practice would have been for nothing.

Lost in thought, he had already reached the bakery where they had bought their breakfast this day. He decided to buy the cheesecake Daehyun liked so much. The other would probably spend the whole day in the practice room without having a proper meal, despite being such a glutton.

“You're lucky, it's the last one.” The old woman smiled warmly at him as she gave him the cake. “Someone just bought the others.”

“Good thing I skipped my lessons then, otherwise I would've been too late.” Youngjae joked and laughed when the woman scolded him a little. “I'll come back soon.” he waved goodbye and continued his way home. He was going to pick Daehyun up at six, meanwhile he could finish one of his assignments and prepare dinner. Then he would have his own dinner. He blushed a little at the thought. It was somewhat awkward, scary and embarrassing but he nevertheless looked forward to it. It felt good to regain the strength he had lost during the past few years, even if it was only little by little.

 

***

The moment he reached the front door, he knew something was wrong.

He stood in front of it for a few moments, listening to the noises the person inside their apartment was making. Whoever it was seemed to be just walking around, maybe a bit excited but at least he wasn't destroying things or anything like that. It was unlikely to be a robber, which left…The front door swung open and almost hit his face. He barely managed to avoid it.

“Youngjae! Nice to see you again.”

In front of him stood a grinning Sung Joon. Someone walking by could have mistaken him as the owner of the apartment who was welcoming a friend he hadn't seen in a while.

“Come on in.” He pulled a stunned Youngjae inside of the apartment and closed the door behind them. “How was university?”

Youngjae frowned. “How did you get in?”

“That's your only concern?” Sung Joon pouted. “Shouldn't you ask why I am here?”

“That's quite obvious.” Youngjae clearly remembered the threat Sung Joon had made and he surely was determined to turn that into action.

“I even rehearsed what I was going to say but you just...” Sung Joon snorted, still pretending to be hurt by how Youngjae didn't follow his plan. “Never mind.” He flashed another grin at Youngjae and pointed at the kitchen table. “Of course I didn't come empty-handed. I bought a bunch of cheesecakes as a gift since Daehyunnie likes these so much, though I see you bought one too.” He shrugged. “I'm sure he can finish all of these before they are spoiled, don't you agree? His stomach is like a bottomless pit.”

“How do you know that?” The other had only met Daehyun in the forest, there was no way he could know these things, unless he had been spying on Daehyun, which was impossible since Youngjae had been around him all the time, except for the previous day but that had only been about two hours that Daehyun definitely hadn't spent eating.

“Let's just say I did my research.” Upon seeing Youngjae clenching his fists, he smirked. “No need to get so worked up, my friend. You're worried I'll take him from you?”

Youngjae didn't reply. Of course, that's what he was planning to do. He had always wanted to take everything from him, even if he didn't actually wanted whatever he took. However, this time Sung Joon actually seemed to be genuinely interested in Daehyun, making him even more determined.

“Actually,” Sung Joon started to wander around inside of the living room, like a villain revealing his master plan for the first time, “I know a lot about our Daehyunnie. Like the fact that he is studying to become a singer. Or that his parents are dead and he used to live with foster parents before coming here.”

He made sure to check Youngjae's reaction, who was trying to control his emotions. He couldn't let any weaknesses show in front of Sung Joon, though he probably wasn't doing a very good job concealing his anger and also his fear. He feared that Daehyun might be taken away.

“He's at the university practising right now, isn't he? He's practising really hard with the help of a senior this minute.”

Finally, Youngjae met the other's gaze. If what he thought Sung Joon was saying was true, Daehyun was in danger.

“You're right.” Sung Joon seemed to have read his mind. “He's an acquaintance. I'm sure he'll take good care of Daehyunnie~”

That was all it took for Youngjae to turn around and exit the apartment, leaving Sung Joon behind. He couldn't care less about the other right now. He had to get to Daehyun as quick as possible.


	9. Chapter 9

He reached the university within ten minutes, thanks to his ability to run at an inhuman speed. Only slightly out of breath, he slowed down to walk at a human, yet rather fast speed. Fortunately, he had been at the university a few times already, for example to bring Daehyun lunch or a book he had forgotten, so he didn't need to search for the practice room for a long time.

“Daehyun!” He burst into the practice room, startling the two persons inside. They were very close to each other, way too close for Youngjae's liking. Daehyun sat at the small table, a few sheets lying in front of him. The senior stood behind him, holding himself up with his arms on Daehyun's left and right side, now looking at Youngjae with a frown on his face.

“What are you doing here?” Daehyun looked at him, utterly confused. “Weren't you going to pick me up at six?”

Youngjae didn't answer him but instead glared at the senior.

“Can't you see we're still practising?” said man asked in a not so friendly tone. “You can wait outside until we're done.”

“Go away from him.” Youngjae growled.

“Excuse me?” The senior raised his eyebrows.

“I said to go away from him.” Youngjae gritted his teeth and made a fist. “Now!”

The other man let out a small laugh as if he couldn't believe what was happening right now. “Who are you to order me around?”

“You-” Youngjae stepped forward and grabbed the other's arm, trying to pull him away from Daehyun, however he wasn't exactly weak.”Move!” If Daehyun wasn't around, he probably would have snapped the other's neck.

“Let go!” The senior shook his arm as if to get rid of an insect but didn't move the slightest bit otherwise.

“Youngjae, what are you doing?” Daehyun sounded irritated and somewhat scared. “Let go of him.” he pleaded.

“No.” Youngjae growled, pulling the other even harder until he tumbled just a little. As soon as his arms weren't at Daehyun's side anymore, he roughly shoved him and landed a kick right into his stomach, making him fall over.

“Sunbae-nim!” Daehyun screeched and tried to rush towards the senior to help him up but Youngjae grabbed him by his waist and pulled Daehyun close to him.

“Stay away from him.” Youngjae hissed. He felt Daehyun flinching but was too occupied keeping an eye on the senior, who slowly stood up, clutching his stomach. “He's dangerous.”

“What are you talking about?” Daehyun sounded as if he was about to cry. “We were just studying and then you suddenly barged in.”

“He-” Youngjae shook his head. He couldn't tell Daehyun that Sung Joon had been in their apartment and that the senior who always practised singing with him was an accomplice. Daehyun would panic for sure and he didn't want that to happen anymore. Instead, he walked straight out, still holding Daehyun's waist and thus pulling him with him.

Daehyun didn't resist but he didn't follow either. He was just being dragged along, outside of the room and the building. It was only when they had left the campus that Youngjae let go of him.

“Let's go home.” Youngjae said. Sung Joon must have left already. It would be too easy if he just waited for them to come home. He liked to play around, making moves when no one expected them.

“Let's go home? That's it?” Daehyun looked at him with wide, scared eyes. “You just caused a scene and now we're just going home as if nothing happened?”

“I didn't cause a scene.” Youngjae frowned. “That guy...”

“That guy is a senior who has practised with me for every exam” Daehyun interrupted him. “and you just came in and bet him up for no reason and you're not even going to tell me why?”

“Let's just go.” Youngjae reached for his hand but Daehyun avoided him. “Please, just trust me.”

“I do, I just want an explanation.” It was Daehyun's turn to frown. “I know that you must have had a reason but I can't read minds.” He sighed. “It's fine if you tell me when we're home but promise me.”

“I promise.” Youngjae smiled softly. He wasn't sure whether or not he should tell Daehyun the truth. The truth might scare him even more but he didn't want to lie to him. Maybe he would be able to figure that out on the way.

 

***

He didn't though.

They were staying in front of their apartment and all Youngjae could do was to hope that he had been right and Sung Joon had left. Fortunately he didn't hear any noises on the inside and when they entered, it was empty except for the cheesecakes Sung Joon had left there and the one Youngjae had dropped on the floor when he had made his hurried exit.

“What's with all these cheesecakes? Do you really think I eat that much?” Daehyun pretended to be mortally offended, yet unpacked one of them.

He looked so excited about the cake that Youngjae couldn't bring himself to tell him that Sung Joon had brought them. Instead he picked up the one he had dropped. Of course it was ruined so he simply threw it away.

“Why did you throw that away, we could have still eaten that. It was still packaged.” Daehyun furrowed his brows, mouth already full with cheesecake. “You shouldn't be picky about food and throw everything away that doesn't look pretty anymore.”

“Yeah, won't do it again.” Youngjae mumbled, not really listening to the other's rant about how rich people always took food for granted and didn't appreciate it enough. What really bothered him was that the door of their bedroom wasn't closed. Had Sung Joon been in there? Carefully, he walked in, as if excepting Sung Joon hiding in the corner. However, the room was empty and everything seemed to be at it's usual place. He let out a relieved sigh. He was becoming paranoid but he couldn't let that show. That was Sung Joon's goal, to play with both of them until they were on the verge of a breakdown and then come out to finish them. The visit today had been meant to unsettle him but he had no intention to just play along. Sung Joon would take his time, which also meant that Youngjae had enough time to prepare himself. Since he wasn't as strong as the other, he needed to figure out a strategy. They were both smart but Sung Joon was a player and very impulsive, which was his greatest weakness. He only needed to think of a way how he could use that against him.

“Youngjae, what are you doing?” Daehyun called from the kitchen. He must have only noticed that Youngjae went to their room just now. Once he had his beloved cheesecake, there was literally nothing that would be able to divert his attention from it.

“Nothing.” He went back to the kitchen, laughing at the sight of Daehyun sitting in front of a half cheesecake. “You already ate half of it?” The other didn't answer and reached for another piece but Youngjae took the cake away. “Don't eat so much.” He chuckled as he put the cheesecakes into the fridge.

“You shouldn't have bought so many then.” Daehyun pouted. “If you think I only deserve one or two pieces, then only buy so much.”

“Or you practise self control, how about that? It's not like someone forces you to eat until nothing is left.”

“That's not easy.” Daehyun folded his arms in front of his chest, taking a defensive pose. “They talk to me, you have no idea what that's like.”

“Actually,” Youngjae smirked as he sat down on a kitchen chair. “my food talks to me all the time.”

“It does?” It took Daehyun a few moments to realize what, or rather whom the other meant. “Oh.” His face began to heat up.

Youngjae chuckled and gestured him to come closer. Though he had endured hunger for several years, after experiencing the feeling of being full for the first time in a while, he didn't really was able to endure hunger for longer than necessary, especially since he had used a lot of his energy by running to Daehyun's university. He pulled the other even closer by wrapping his arms around his waist until he stood between his legs. Looking up at Daehyun, he could only smile at how cute the he looked.

Daehyun was blushing madly, nervously biting his lower lip. However, he didn't retreat when Youngjae reached for his face, instead he leaned down and quickly closed the distance between their faces.

Youngjae was somewhat surprised, since he hadn't really thought of the other as a straightforward person when it came to these kind of things. Probably he just wanted to get it over with quickly. He cupped Daehyun's cheeks and pressed his lips onto the other pair.

Daehyun tensed a little at first but relaxed after a few moments when Youngjae started to nibble on his lower lip and closed his eyes, letting out soft moans that made Youngjae determined to draw out even more of these delicious sounds.

He slightly pushed his tongue against the other's lips, who got the hint and opened his mouth, still a little hesitant though, allowing Youngjae to slip his tongue into his mouth. Daehyun tasted sweet like the cheesecake he had just eaten. Usually Youngjae preferred not so sweet things but Daehyun's taste was simply addicting. He explored the wet cavern, savouring the flavour but at the same time he was careful to check Daehyun's reaction so that he could pull away as soon as the other would show the slightest sign of discomfort.

Meanwhile Daehyun let himself drop on Youngjae's lap because he was quickly tiring out standing in a bent position and was getting a little bit light-headed. He tried to wrap his arms around Youngjae, who instead pulled away and looked at him worried.

“Are you okay?” Youngjae asked, noting that the other looked somewhat weak and was now leaning against his chest for support. He probably went a little too far. Daehyun must still be weakened from the day before, he should have thought of that. Before Daehyun got used to this, he should only draw out very little qi, otherwise the other would constantly be tired and weakened.

“I'm fine.” Daehyun mumbled. He seemed a little disappointed but that might only be Youngjae's imagination. “Do you still want to–”

“No, I'm full.” Youngjae quickly said. To be honest, he probably would never be sated when it came to Daehyun but anymore could be dangerous. “Can you stand up?”

Daehyun nodded and stood up, or rather he tried but fell back in an instant. His legs were too shaky to stand. “I might need some cheesecake now.”

“Just a little though.” Youngjae chuckled and placed Daehyun at another chair to get him some cheesecake, being reminded once again of Sung Joon. He was feeling uneasy but couldn't grasp why.


	10. Chapter 10

Daehyun woke up with a terrible stomach ache in the middle of the night.

“Fuck.” he silently cursed to himself, curling himself into a ball to make the pain more bearable. His stomach felt as if it was about to explode. He considered waking Youngjae up but that would have meant that he would have to stand up and he doubted he could stand straight at the moment. Besides, he didn't want to be a burden, at least not more than he already was. Groaning in pain, he wrapped his arms around his legs and pulled them as close as possible to his upper body. Maybe, if he would just bear with it for an hour, he would fall asleep again.

However, half an hour later, that had felt like an eternity, he still was wide awake, though the pain had subsided a little. He rolled himself around for the hundredth time, only noticing that Youngjae had woken up when he felt someone sitting next to him. “Youngjae?” he mumbled, looking up at the man of whom he could only make out the silhouette. “Did I wake you up?”

The other nodded.

“Sorry.” Daehyun smiled weakly, although the other probably couldn't see it. “My stomach hurts a little, so-” He gasped when a cold hand crept under his pyjama shirt and gently pressed down on his stomach, while another arm was wrapped around his waist, pulling him close to the other's body. Shivering, he tried to move away from the cold hand that had started to massage his stomach lightly. Something warm would be better to ease the pain. “Why are you so cold?” He knew something was wrong when the other didn't answer but instead tightened the grip around his waist. “Youngjae?” he called out, unsure what was going on. Again, he didn't receive an answer. However, he could hear the bed creaking when Youngjae moved slightly. The other bed. His blood ran cold. “Who-” The other quickly covered his mouth, muffling his voice. No matter how hard he struggled and pulled at the other's arms, the iron grip remained.

“Missed me?” the other asked with a quiet, very familiar voice.

Daehyun's movements stopped in an instant. His body stiffened and he couldn't breathe.

Upon noticing that Daehyun couldn't move, Sung Joon let go of Daehyun's waist and instead brought his hand up to caress his cheek. “I did miss you.” He chuckled slightly at the other's fear. “Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. I just wanted to check on you. Was the cheesecake good?”

Daehyun's eyes widened. If he knew about the cheesecake, did that mean that…

“I brought them earlier since I didn't want to come empty-handed. Though Youngjae bought one as well.” he casually stated as if he had read Daehyun's mind. “It must have been delicious. You overate, right? I've heard you're quite a glutton.”

Overeating would indeed explain his stomach ache, in case Sung Joon didn't poison it. Why did Youngjae just let him eat something Sung Joon had bought though? He must have known who bought them but he still didn't hinder him when he ate them. Probably that meant the cakes were fine but…

“I didn't do anything to them, in case you were wondering.” Sung Joon laughed quietly, careful not to wake Youngjae up. “You should practise self restraint like Youngjae does.” He paused for a moment, before he leant down and pecked Daehyun's lips, quickly covering his mouth with his hand again afterwards. “Well, like Youngjae did, at least.”

Though Daehyun couldn't see the other's face, he surely was grinning widely.

“He's finally growing up.” Sung Joon chuckled a little. “I don't think you're his taste though?” He once again leant down, removing his hand from Daehyun's mouth to instead hold his chin tightly.

Daehyun whimpered and tried to move away but his body wouldn't act according to his will. He couldn't move one single finger. His mouth was forced open and a wet muscle entered, kissing him in the same way Youngjae had but it still felt like the complete opposite. While Youngjae had been gentle and careful Sung Joon was way too rough, it wasn't anywhere near pleasurable. In fact, Sung Joon's bitter taste made him want to throw up. Daehyun whimpered again but he knew he wouldn't be able to wake Youngjae up. Youngjae always woke up at the same time and only at that time. The only thing that could wake him up would be a scream right into his ear, which Sung Joon definitely would prevent. He gasped for air when Sung Joon pulled away.

“You taste really sweet.” Sung Joon traced Daehyun's lower lip with his index finger. “Youngjae doesn't really like sweet stuff though.” He paused for a short moment. “Well, food is food after all. No one would be picky after years of fasting.”

Daehyun's throat felt too tight to answer, yet he flinched at these words. He didn't want to think that he was nothing more than food to Youngjae, the kind of food he didn't even like on top of that. Although it was indeed true that the other primarily fed on him, he would like to think that he enjoyed the whole thing as much as Daehyun did.

“You like him, don't you? And by that, I don't mean just liking someone as a friend.” Sung Joon teased. He always seemed to know exactly what was going on inside Daehyun's head.

Daehyun blushed and tried to shake his head but still wasn't overcome the paralysis. Though he did like Youngjae, he couldn't exactly pinpoint in what way. In any case, Sung Joon couldn't know anything that he could use against them.

“You're so cute.” Sung Joon squealed and pinched his cheek.

Daehyun felt like he was about to die. His stomach ache worsened and he had trouble breathing. He could only hope that the other wouldn't do anything worse when Youngjae was this close.

“You know,” Sung Joon leaned down and whispered into his ear, “I'd really love to fuck you right now,”

Daehyun's heartbeat stopped for a moment.

“but sadly that's not what I came for, so this has to wait a little bit more.”

Though he was a bit relieved, he didn't overhear the threat. If he was able to enter the apartment twice, he could do so any time and in case Youngjae wasn't around…

“Youngjae's book… I'm sure you saw it already, right?” Sung Joon took out the book from his pocket.

Why did he have it? Didn't Youngjae take the book with him and hide it somewhere? It seemed to be something really precious to him, judging by the way he had reacted when Daehyun had laid a hand on it. Sung Joon probably knew that and planned to blackmail Youngjae or something. If he would be able to move, he could have just grabbed the book but all he could do was to watch the book disappearing in Sung Joon's pocket.

“The book is… How do I explain this?” Sung Joon paused, pretending to think. “Let's just say he'll be in trouble without it.” He chuckled evilly. “And I don't really feel like giving it back.” Caressing Daehyun's cheek, he tapped against the book inside his pocket. “At least not just like that.”

Daehyun gulped. It was obvious Sung Joon wanted him to do something but what? It definitely wouldn't be anything good.

“You just need to come to the place I'll tell you sometime. Simple, isn't it?” He pinched Daehyun's cheek again. “I'll give you the book then. Youngjae won't even notice that it was gone.”

As if Daehyun would do that. He wasn't that stupid. How important could that book be? Sure, it probably was inherited since it hat his family's crest but was it worth more than his own life? Well, probably. He was just a poor student, Youngjae the heir of a hospital. Anything that belonged to Youngjae's family would be more valuable than him. Would he sacrifice himself just to get that book back? Probably. It was his fault Sung Joon stole the book in the first place and he was already being too much of a burden to Youngjae. Maybe he would be able to figure out how to deal with this until Sung Joon actually told him to go somewhere.

“You'll come, right?” Sung Joon sounded joyfully. “I'll let you know the exact address and time through your senior, since I don't have your phone number.”

So that was why Youngjae had shown up and attacked his senior. Though it felt like he got punched knowing that the senior who had helped him through many exams already, it didn't really came as a surprise. He had found it suspicious that the other had suddenly become a lot more touchy-feely and had always stayed way too close to him. It had scared him, to be honest. Thankfully Youngjae had shown up. After knowing exactly why he had behaved that way, Daehyun regretted doubting Youngjae's actions. He couldn't deny though that Youngjae had been scary.

Sung Joon finally let go of him and stood up. “I'll get going. Make sure not to miss our date.” He probably was smirking or winking. “Oh, and don't tell Youngjae. You don't want him to show up and ruin everything, right?”

Daehyun only managed a small nod before he heard the door opening and closing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So these are the already finished chapters, I'm currently working on the next one ^^


	11. Chapter 11

“You're already awake?” Youngjae couldn't believe his eyes when he woke up and saw Daehyun sitting on the edge of his bed. Daehyun never woke up before him. Never. Not a single time since they had moved together. “Are you okay?” Daehyun was a little pale and his eyes were bloodshot. Probably he didn't get much sleep.

“I had a stomach ache, nothing to worry about.” Daehyun mumbled. “I just overate.”

“Do you need some medicine?” Worriedly, Youngjae went over towards Daehyun and sat down next to him. He slipped his hand under the other's pyjama shirt and gently massaged his stomach like his own mother had done when he had had stomach aches, at least before she had become too busy to see him for even a few minutes.

Daehyun's body became rigid at first but he quickly relaxed into Youngjae's touch. “I'm fine. You don't need to worry that much.” he complained half-heartedly, yet leaned against Youngjae's shoulder and closed his eyes. “Your hand is warm.” He must be really tired, it looked like he was about to fall asleep.

They stayed in that position for a while until Youngjae spoke up. “I told you not to eat too much. I swear your stomach has gotten softer.” he teased, trying to lighten the mood a little bit.

Daehyun snorted. “Not true.” He huffed. “I'll get ready, my lessons start soon.” He attempted to stand up but was held down by his waist. “Let go..” he mumbled, his head already on the other's shoulder again, eyes closed as if he was about to fall asleep.

Youngjae chuckled at his cuteness but quickly got serious again. “About that...” He hesitated for a moment. “I'd prefer it if you didn't go to university today.” He still hadn't told Daehyun about the senior and Sung Joon and, to be honest, he also didn't want to know. Daehyun should feel safe at home but knowing that Sung Joon just went in and out as he pleased, he would probably start to suspect danger in every corner. Also, knowing that the senior whom he had trusted ever since he had entered university was Sung Joon's accomplice wasn't exactly a calming thought.

Daehyun hummed, not altering his position.

Surprised that Daehyun didn't question what he had just said, he turned a little to look at him.

The sudden movement made Daehyun's head fall off his shoulder. He yelped when he landed in Youngjae's lap, yet he didn't move away. “I don't feel like going either.” he said after a few moments.

Youngjae nodded, relieved that he didn't have to tell him. “You should rest since you didn't sleep. You'll have enough time to practise for your exam even if you don't go today. Besides, you're already very good anyway.” he quickly said when Daehyun opened his mouth.

“My worries are that obvious to you?” Daehyun smiled weakly.

“It's not like I only know you since yesterday.” Youngjae started to lazily played with Daehyun's hair. He had done this quite a few times to calm the other when he had nightmares. Of course Daehyun didn't know about this because he had always been asleep but it still worked like it always did. “Honestly, if not for you're exam nerves, you would've passed every exam with ease.”

“Am I that good?” When Youngjae simply nodded, Daehyun blushed and giggled cutely at the compliment. “Well, I guess I am.”

Youngjae grinned and poked the other's cheek. “But don't get too cocky. Singers should always be humble and work hard to improve.”

“Understood, teacher.” Daehyun grinned as well, then yawned.

“You should go back to sleep, I'll go make breakfast.”

He nodded but wrapped his arms around Youngjae's waist. “Let's stay like this for a few more minutes though. It's comfy.” he mumbled. “How long until you have to go to your lessons?”

“I'll stay home and take care of you.” Youngjae gave him an assuring smile. He wouldn't be able to concentrate on his studies anyway knowing that Daehyun was alone at home when Sung Joon could come in any time.

“Thanks.” Daehyun snuggled closer and closed his eyes. “We could watch films later, we haven't done that in a while.”

“Sure, but sleep first.” Youngjae reached for the blanket and pulled it over Daehyun's body. He continued to play with his hair until the other fell asleep.

 

***

When Daehyun woke up again, it was already past lunch time. He entered the kitchen when Youngjae was just about to finish his meal, with unsteady steps, still rubbing his eyes. He looked around disorientated until his eyes found Youngjae. “You ate without me?” He pouted.

“I didn't want to wake you up.” Youngjae laughed softly at the half asleep state the other was in.

“At least tell me you didn't eat everything up.” Daehyun went towards the cupboard and grabbed a plate, then he sat beside him and glanced at the dishes Youngjae had made. “Nine dishes? Isn't that too much?” he asked as his eyes shone in excitement. There wasn't a single thing in the world that would make him happier than food.

That was exactly why Youngjae had worked for hours preparing this many dishes. Not only should Daehyun eat a lot of proper food (cheesecake didn't count as proper food in his opinion) to regain his strength, Youngjae also simply wanted to cheer him up. “Don't eat too much though, your stomach might still be a little weak.”

“I completely recovered.” Daehyun managed to say through stuffed cheeks. “Besides, you always cook healthy food, eating these won't do any harm.”

“All things are poisons, for there is nothing without poisonous qualities. It's only the dose which makes a thing poison.”

“Did you just quote someone?”

“Paracelsus, a-”

“I don't care.” Daehyun interrupted him quickly before that would turn into a lecture. “You're such a smartass.”

Youngjae snorted. “And you apparently want to die stupid.”

“Maybe.” Daehyun grinned and continued to inhale his food. “What about dessert though?” he asked when he was chewing on his last bite.

“You ate that much and still want to eat more?” Youngjae rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Even when you couldn't sleep all night because you overate, shouldn't you know better?” Despite the nagging, he stood up and checked the inside of the fridge.

“I don't think I want to eat cheesecake now though.”

Youngjae hummed and continued to search the fridge. Other than the many cheesecakes, there wasn't a lot of food left and nothing that could be eaten as a dessert. “I think you'll have to abstain from dessert today then. We only have cheesecake left.”

“Seriously?” Daehyun jumped up to search the fridge himself and pouted disappointedly when there were indeed only the cheesecakes left. “Where did all the food go?”  
Youngjae raised his eyebrows and pointed at Daehyun's stomach.

The other completely ignored that. “We need to go grocery shopping.”

“Right now?” Youngjae would prefer it if they didn't leave the apartment. On the other hand, Daehyun would be safe as long as Youngjae was with him and Sung Joon surely wouldn't make a move when they were out in public.

“I don't function without dessert, so yes.” Daehyun was already about to go to the bathroom, as he still was in his sleep wear when his mobile phone rang.

“Who is it?” Youngjae asked, focused on taking care of the dishes.

“My parents.” Daehyun answered hesitantly. “Could you go grocery shopping by yourself?”

“Are you sure?” Youngjae knew that Daehyun would be uncomfortable if he were to witness the conversation between him and his foster parents. To say they didn't get along well would be an understatement. However, as much Youngjae didn't want to do something that would make the other uncomfortable, he wanted to leave him alone even less.

“It's only for a short while.” Daehyun looked at him with pleading eyes. “It's not like something could happen while I'm inside.” Apparently his pride still was stronger than anything else.

“Fine.” Youngjae gave in with a sigh. “But immediately text or call me when something seems weird.”

“Sure, don't worry.” Daehyun's smile seemed a little bit forced. Well, it was understandable that he wasn't exactly happy about having to talk to his foster parents, after all they treated him like shit.

“I'll get going, see you later.” Youngjae quickly put on his shoes and waved goodbye.

 

***

Something was wrong.

Youngjae frowned. The front door was closed but not locked. He was 100% sure he had locked it when he had left and there was no reason for Daehyun to open it again, unless he wanted to leave. “Daehyun?” he called when he entered the apartment. No answer. Instead, his gaze was drawn to the wall right in front of the door.

“ _The Game is on”_ was written on it in bloody red letters.

“Fuck. Daehyun!” He stormed into the apartment, checking every room, even every wardrobe. “Fuck!” He punched the next wall, over and over again. Why hadn't he thought of this? Why had he let Daehyun alone? Yes, Daehyun had asked for it but he should have known better. To hell with Daehyun's pride, he should have cared more about his safety but he had been too fixated on the fact that Sung Joon was a player. Though he normally took his time, Youngjae should have kept in mind that he became impatient from time to time, especially when it was about something that belonged to Youngjae. If only Youngjae hadn't made it that obvious that he really cared about Daehyun… It was his fault. Everything was his fault. Daehyun would have been safer without him.

“Fuck.” His legs gave out. He sank down and leaned against the wall, right below the writing.

What had he done to Daehyun? Just what would happen to him? Once Sung Joon had him it was all over. He was too weak to fight Sung Joon head-on, let alone defeat him. There was nothing he could do now. He couldn't help Daehyun.

“I'm sorry...” It wasn't more than a whisper, echoing in his mind. “So sorry...”

But there was no one to hear it.

Daehyun was gone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when Daehyun said he likes someone who makes 9 dishes? ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! Rape & Torture   
> This actually turned out a lot more extreme than I had originally planned ^^'

Daehyun checked the number on his phone. Luckily, Youngjae was focusing on the dishes, so he didn't see how his face paled and his hands became a little shaky. He hadn't thought they would call him so soon.

“Who is it?”

“My parents.” he answered hesitantly. He couldn't tell Youngjae. It was his fault alone the book was stolen, the other shouldn't get dragged into this. “Could you go grocery shopping by yourself?”

“Are you sure?”

“It's only for a short while.” Daehyun looked at him with pleading eyes. Couldn't he just go? Everything would be much more complicated if he stayed home. “It's not like something could happen while I'm inside.” The opposite was true but a worried Youngjae would only keep being around him.

“Fine.” Youngjae gave in with a sigh. “But immediately text or call me when something seems weird.”

“Sure, don't worry.” Daehyun forced a smile.

“I'll get going, see you later.” Youngjae quickly put on his shoes and waved goodbye.

A few moments after the door had closed, Daehyun accepted the call. “When and where?”

“You won't even greet me after you took forever to finally answer the phone? At least apologize instead of your friend who practically beat me up.” His senior snickered.

If Daehyun hadn't been so scared, he would have rolled his eyes at the other's attitude. “Well, sorry. When and where?” He tried to sound impatient and to hide his fear. Needless to say he failed.

“Want to get it over with, huh?” His senior laughed again. “Stay on the phone, I'll tell you the directions while you walk.”

Daehyun gulped. He really had no chance to adjourn this. Maybe it was better that way, otherwise he might start to doubt his decision. “I'll quickly get dressed.” he mumbled and put the phone on the kitchen table and got ready even faster than when he had been late for an exam. After he had put on his shoes, he grabbed the phone again. “I'm ready.”

The next twenty minutes Daehyun was guided through various small streets. It seemed he was walking in circles.

“To confuse Youngjae.” the senior explained. “While we're not tracking dogs, your smell is kinda extraordinary, not in a bad way though, so he might be able to follow your path.”

Daehyun continued walking until he reached a black car.

“Get onto the back seat.”

He complied and was greeted by his senior on the driving seat.

“We'll drive from here on.”

Daehyun stayed silent, too afraid to call his senior out on what had happened and what was happening right now. After another fifteen minutes they reached an old warehouse. He was dragged out of the car and into the warehouse, where Sung Joon was waiting for them.

“Welcome.” Sung Joon smiled brightly and pulled Daehyun into a bone-crushing hug. “Sorry if this is a bit rushed, I just couldn't wait any longer.” He stayed like this for a few minutes, holding Daehyun's rigid body tightly.

“So what will we do with him now?”

“We?” Sung Joon raised an eyebrow at the other man. “Sorry,” with the speed of light, he had pulled out a knife from his pocket and rammed it into the senior's neck. “I'm not going to share.”

Daehyun was about to faint when he felt splashes of blood hit his face. Watching his senior, or rather the body that had been his senior fall down, he pictured himself in his place. Was this how his own life would end too?

“Maybe that was a little harsh.” Sung Joon was smiling again when he wiped the blood off Daehyun's face. “I could've just told him but I tend to overreact when I'm excited.” He pulled Daehyun farther towards the backside of the warehouse so that they weren't standing right next to the corps anymore. “You can't really handle blood, huh?” He chuckled a little.

Daehyun wasn't usually scared of blood but witnessing someone being slaughtered and knowing that he was completely at the mercy the killer was terrifying.

“Oh well, I'll just make sure you don't bleed too much.”

He paled even more, if that was even possible. Of course he had known that they wouldn't just sit down and talk or something but he still had somewhat hoped that Sung Joon wouldn't do anything serious.

“No need to worry, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it, at least most of it.” Sung Joon gently stroked his cheek and at the same time let go of him. “If you're good, that is. Then I'll make sure you have a good time and you'll also get the book back.” He took a step backwards, challenging him to run away.

Daehyun wasn't that stupid. He would never be able to escape. If he tried, it would only give Sung Joon a reason to hurt him. On top of that, he definitely wouldn't get the book back, which was why he was there in the first place.

“Not trying to run this time?” Sung Joon smirked. “Fine with me. Though I prefer exciting hunts and wild, kinky nights, some vanilla stuff can be fun as well from time to time.”

Daehyun gulped. He didn't like either. Not with Sung Joon at least.

“Take off your shirt.”

He complied, his gaze fixed on the floor. It was humiliating and uncomfortable as hell, being eyed as if he was the other's prey or some delicious treat. He tried to cover himself a little bit but quickly dropped his arms when he saw Sung Joon shaking his head in disapproval from the corner of his eyes.

“Good boy.” Sung Joon cooed and patted his head.

Daehyun still refused to look at the other, even when he felt him poking his stomach. It was as if he was tied in place.

“How can you be so skinny when all you do is eating?” Sung Joon sounded like he was pouting. “That's just unfair. I seem to be getting fat when I only look at food. I'd hate you for that if you weren't so pretty. Though you'd definitely look very cute with chubbier cheeks.” He pinched his cheek, making Daehyun slightly grimace. “You don't like being pinched?” Chuckling, Sung Joon pecked his cheek. “Is that better?”

Daehyun wanted to push him away, to tell him that he hated being anywhere near him but he just couldn't. He was afraid. This situation was by far the scariest he had been in. While he had only been nervous as soon as he had seen who had called, actually being alone with Sung Joon was much worse. The previous day had been scary but at least Youngjae had been there. Though sleeping, his presence had calmed Daehyun a little. He hadn't been there in the forest but Daehyun hadn't known then what Sung Joon actually was. The fact that he wasn't human made him even more dangerous and scary. Also there had been a slight possibility that someone else would come by while the warehouse was basically surrounded by kilometres of grass and nothingness. No chance of someone coming to stop Sung Joon from whatever he was going to do.

Sung Joon chuckled again and placed his hand right above Daehyun's way too fast beating heart. “You're either very scared or very excited.” He tilted his head, seemingly curious as if it wasn't totally obvious. “You should be happy. Not everyone is lucky enough to for me not wanting to hurt them just for fun.” Grinning, he slid his hand down Daehyun's body and stopped at the waistband of his pants. “That doesn't mean I don't want to hurt you but rather then just having fun, I'll be patient and take all the time I need to break you apart thoroughly. That also includes giving you pleasure to some extent. For human men, that's usually even worse than the pain. Weird, if you ask me.”

Daehyun tried to ignore him, both the hand on his waistband as well as his not so comforting words.

“Enough sweet-talking. On your knees.” Sung Joon ordered, his tone suddenly cold and harsh, getting across that any disobedience would be punished without even saying it, so Daehyun complied. His movements were robotic as if he was controlled by Sung Joon's voice, who took note of that but didn't say anything, even though he looked like he was tempted to tease him about it. Instead, he suddenly changed to a sweeter tone. “Have you ever done something like this before, Daehyunnie?” He played with his hair as he looked down to him.

Though he didn't say what exactly he was talking about, it wasn't too hard to guess, given that Daehyun's face was directly in front of the other's crotch. He shook his head as much as he could bring himself to. Movements the other hadn't ordered to do were much harder because he feared to be punished for doing something not allowed. Why did his fear even affect his ability to move anyway?

“Answer me with words, dear.”

His sweet tone made Daehyun feel sick. That was exactly how he had talked to him in the forest, right before he had almost broken his wrist for disobeying him. “I haven't.” His voice was horse as if he hadn't used it for days.

“Have you at least ever seen it?” When Daehyun finally looked up to him, his gaze full of confusion, Sung Joon rolled his eyes and laughed softly. “Do you watch porn? My, you really are innocent. I'll tell you what to do then.” He slowly opened the button of his pants and pulled them down, just enough so that he could reach under his boxers and pull his cock out.

Daehyun flinched but didn't move otherwise, not even when Sung Joon quickly stroked himself hard and pressed his erection against Daehyun's lips.

“Take it into your mouth already, at least that part should be obvious.” He growled at the back of his throat when Daehyun obeyed. “Now use your tongue to… yes, just like that. Are you sure you've never done this?” He placed his hand at the back of Daehyun's head and started to slowly move his head back and forth. “Look up at me.”

Daehyun did. His eyes were watering from holding back his gag-reflex, the bitter taste and maybe also from shame. His cheeks were flushed from lack of oxygen, his jaw and knees were hurting. Still, he tried not to let that show. If he somehow dissatisfied the other, he really would be in danger.

“You're doing so well, Daehyunnie.” Sung Joon cooed. “It's as if you were made for this alone.”

Daehyun felt like throwing up. It seemed to take forever until Sung Joon finally came without warning. When the other pulled back, he immediately gasped for air but ended up inhaling some of the salty liquid, which made him turn away from the other slightly to cough and spit the rest out. He staid on all fours, trying to catch his breath.

“Don't you know that you should swallow everything?”

Daehyun froze when he felt the other's hand on his back but Sung Joon only rubbed soothing circles on his back.

“Considering it was your first time you still did well enough. You still need to practise a lot though.” Sung Joon laughed a short, cruel laugh. “That will be the only hole Youngjae will be able to use after I'm done with you anyway.” he said as he flipped Daehyun onto his back. His arms were pressed onto the floor right above his head.

He felt his anxiety kicking in even stronger than before, both because of what the other had said as well as because of the position he was in. His breathing became ragged, his body became rigid and he broke out in a cold sweat.

“This position scares you, huh?” Sung Joon let go of his arms but raised an eyebrow when he attempted to move his arms, so Daehyun just let them where they were. “Good boy.” Sung Joon ruffled his hair. “That's how you should be; obedient and submissive, accepting whatever I'll do to you. Better stay like this.” He leaned down to kiss him but seemed to suddenly remember something and pulled something out of his pocket. He unwrapped the chocolate bar and held it up to Daehyun's lips. “Eat this, Daehyunnie~”

Daehyun hesitantly tilted his head up a little and started to eat the chocolate in small bites. The combination of salty bitterness and sweetness made him feel even sicker than before. Usually he would kill for some chocolate but this was just gross. When he had finished the whole bar, not without gagging once or twice but the other had completely ignored that and instead had pressed the bar against his lips, Sung Joon leaned down once again to actually kiss him. It was fast and rough; uncomfortable but at least it didn't last long. The kiss did leave him with a painful feeling in his chest though.

“Chocolate flavour is definitely better than cum.” Sung Joon licked his lips, then tilted his head curiously. “Does it hurt?”

Daehyun nodded. He would have clutched his chest to ease the pain if the other hadn't ordered him to stay in his current position.

“That's so annoying.” Sung Joon frowned. “It was like that with the other guy too.” He slid his fingers under the waistband of Daehyun's pants. “Tell me, what exactly did Youngjae tell why he didn't feed for so long?”

“He… Well...” Daehyun hesitated. He wasn't sure whether it was okay to tell this but Sung Joon might already know everything, at least it seemed that way by the way he had asked. “He killed two people.”

Sung Joon chuckled. “While that is true, that's not the whole truth. You see, Youngjae isn't really the type of person who feels sorry about hurting or killing people he doesn't care about. For him, empathy is very limited, not something you'd feel for every living being. Other than you, there was one other boy he cared a lot about.” He suddenly pulled strongly on Daehyun's pants and boxers, stripping him completely.

Daehyun yelped and reached for his pants but was flipped to lie on his stomach.

Sung Joon slapped his butt hardly, making him hiss in pain. “Didn't I tell you to just accept everything I do to you? Or do I have to tie you up?”

Daehyun quickly shook his head. Though being tied up didn't really make any difference, he would at least feel safer if he knew that technically he could move his arms. Also he was a little curious about where whatever Sung Joon was going to tell him was leading. Either it would be something important or it was just one of his moods.

“That's good.” Sung Joon pulled Daehyun's waist up so that his butt was high up while his upper body was still laying on the floor. “I want you to feel the humiliation of not being able to do a thing even when you could move. It'll look like your doing this out of your own will if someone came by.” He suddenly pushed one finger into Daehyun's whole and laughed at the pained sound he made. “You are so alike, that boy and you. He reacted exactly the same way when I did this to him.”

He wriggled his finger around, making Daehyun clench his teeth and fists to avoid any sound coming out. It felt as if the other had pushed a knife into him, not just a finger.

“Youngjae really liked that boy, just like he likes you now. I liked him first but he still ended up liking Youngjae better. Do you have any idea how annoying that is? Even you like him while you despise me.” He suddenly slammed his finger in and out of him, making Daehyun scream in pain. His laugh at that sounded somewhat desperate. “It's just not fair that I have to extract someone's qi by force and keep hurting them while all Youngjae has to do is to smile at them so that they give him their qi voluntarily and find everything he does pleasurable.” He kept repeating that movement, making Daehyun scream even louder. “There, doesn't that feel good? That boy really liked it when Youngjae did this but when I tried to give him pleasure he just screamed and tried to get away.”

Daehyun groaned when he felt a second finger push into him and then screamed again in pain when Sung Joon returned to his movements. He was crazy, completely crazy. Not that he hadn't known before that the other was a psycho but he hadn't thought that he was this crazy.

“But you're not like that boy, you're staying and accepting my affection.” He added a third finger. “You even look like him, maybe that's why Youngjae is so fond of you. But this time, you don't like him back, you like me better, don't you?” He halted his movements.

Daehyun whimpered. He wasn't sure he would be able to take this any longer. His palms were bleeding where his fingernails had dug into the skin and his voice was already becoming hoarse from all the screaming.

“Answer me!” Sung Joon yelled, delivering a hard slap onto his butt with his free hand.

“I like you better.” Daehyun sobbed. “Better than Youngjae.”

“And you're feeling good, right?” Sung Joon spread his fingers. “This is so pleasurable you're disgusted by yourself for giving in into your desires!”

“Yes, it feels good.” He choked on his words. The feeling of being forcefully entered and stretched out, with completely dry fingers on top of that, was indeed gross and not even a masochist would be able to feel good like that.

Sung Joon threw his head back and laughed like a maniac. “And again, I took something that he cherished. Isn't that the best thing ever? You should have seen his face when he found me with that boy. He was shocked and desperate, yet the smell of blood definitely turned him on. That's why he stopped feeding in any way. Not because he felt sorry for what he did to strangers or whatever bullshit he has told you but because his own hunger disgusted him.” He suddenly withdrew his fingers. “There's nothing wrong with it though. Actually, he was disgusted by how I usually feed. Want me to show you?”

Daehyun desperately shook his head. Being fingered was already painful enough without even making him bleed. Whatever the other was planning to do to him, he would never be able to take it.

“If you behave well, I'll give you the book back after this.”

He screamed louder than he ever had. Something inside him definitely had been torn. He felt blood gushing out of his hole when Sung Joon moved his fist inside him. The other had literally punched his fist into him. Tears ran down his face. He winced every time the other moved his fist or leaned forward to drink some of the blood that flowed out of him.

Screw satisfying Sung Joon and getting Youngjae's book back, at this rate, Daehyun wasn't sure he would survive this.

“Even your blood tastes like him. Maybe you're his reincarnation or his long lost twin brother.” Sung Joon giggled.

 

_Youngjae… Help me!_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably taking out my frustration of not being able to see Daehyun's musical on his fictional self, though he doesn't really deserve that, fictional or not >.<
> 
> I really want to go watch the musical though TT.TT


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter is a mess :D

_His heart stopped beating for a second when he saw his new roommate. When he had decided to live together with a human, it hadn't only been to learn more about them and how their society worked, he had known most of that from books. He needed someone to distract him, who would make him forget what had happened only a few weeks ago. Yet there he was, smiling brightly at a face almost identical to Donghyun's. Either fate was punishing him or gave him a second chance._

“ _Nice to meet you, I'm Daehyun, currently studying music.” his roommate smiled back at him with an equally bright smile._

_His heart broke at how similar he looked to Donghyun when smiling._

 

_They weren't the same._

_Daehyun tended to be shy around strangers but loud and excited once he got more comfortable. He didn't talk as much as one would expect though._

_Donghyun had been a quiet person but that didn't mean that he had been shy. He hadn't been afraid to speak his opinion out loud, not even when he had known it would end up with him getting beaten._

_While Daehyun had a strong passion for music, he couldn't remember any goal that Donghyun might had had. Donghyun had just lived for the day, spending his time thinking and wandering around. Daehyun instead worked hard to achieve his dream._

_The only thing they had in common was that their parents, or foster parents in Daehyun's case, sucked. That was why Donghyun had rarely spent his days at home and that was why Daehyun desperately needed a someone to live with because his foster parents didn't give him enough money to be able to afford even the cheapest apartment, even though the husband apparently was a lawyer and should actually have more than enough money. At least they didn't beat him as much as Donghyun's parents had. The beatings were probably the reason why he had at some point stopped caring. He had gotten beaten anyway, no matter what he had done._

_He had always felt sorry for having to leave Donghyun alone when their family's vacation had ended. Every time they had come back there, Donghyun had had more bruises than the last time and his eyes had been duller. Yet he had always had something mysterious about him that had made him want to get to know him more. He had been delinquent-like, always testing limits. Probably because he hadn't cared about punishments. His whole life had been a punishment. He had gotten himself into trouble many times, into danger even. When they had met, it had already been to late to help him._

_Sometimes, he wondered whether Donghyun would have become like Daehyun if he had had something he had been so passionate about. Daehyun's safe haven had been his singing. If not for that, he could have become like Donghyun and vice versa. Daehyun could still become like Donghyun._

_He would protect him, from his parents, the outside world, even from himself. He wouldn't let himself make the same mistake. It had been too late for Donghyun but he still could help Daehyun._

_Because Daehyun was still alive._

 

“ _What are you thinking about?”_

“ _Nothing.” Absent-minded, he looked at the other. He was beautiful, except for the bruises that covered every visible part of his skin. “Why did they beat you?” He was angry._

“ _I'm not sure.” Donghyun shrugged. “They always find something, don't they? Well, I guess they noticed that I took some of their money and spent it on cigarettes.”_

“ _You smoke?” He frowned. “You shouldn't throw your life away like that.”_

_Donghyun shrugged again. “My life isn't worth much anyway.”_

“ _Please don't say that.”_

“ _What, because you care about me?” Donghyun raised his eyebrows at him._

“ _I do, although I have no idea why, you really are an idiot.”_

“ _Thanks.” Donghyun let his legs tangle over the edge of the cliff. “I didn't smoke them by the way. I sold them to minors for a much higher price. I'd never burn money.”_

“ _Not much better. You know that's illegal.” he slightly scolded the other, knowing it wouldn't do much._

“ _At least I'm not throwing my own life away.” Donghyun yawned. “And I need the money. Sung Joon promised to bring me a game I've always wanted when you come back here next summer.”_

“ _You talked to Sung Joon?”_

“ _Why not? You're parents are friends, aren't they? It's not like he's some stranger. Also, he seems to like me a lot.”_

“ _He also liked my pet dog a lot, then he beat it to death because it liked me better.” He balled his hands into fists._

“ _Wow, really?” Donghyun's voice sounded unimpressed. “Will that happen to me as well? Because I like you better too.”_

_His heart skipped a beat. He liked Donghyun too. Too much maybe. “Please don't talk to him anymore. He's dangerous and I don't want anything to happen to you.”_

“ _I'll be careful.” Donghyun leaned against him. “You'll be there to safe me anyway.” He grabbed his hand. “Promise that you'll protect me, no matter what.” Donghyun's hand was shaking. “Protect me from my parents, the outside world and even myself.”_

“ _I promise.” he whispered._

 

“ _See?” Donghyun held a card game in his hands. “I always wanted this but you can't find it here. Well, except for the see and some cliffs, you can't find anything here.” He had more bruises than the last time, if that was even possible._

“ _Fine, now that you got it, don't talk to Sung Joon again, please.”_

“ _Jealous?”_

“ _You know I'm worried about you.” He sighed. “Do you really not care about what happens to you?”_

“ _My life isn't worth that much.” Donghyun shrugged._

“ _Sometimes I wonder, if you had had someone or something to hold onto, would you think differently?” His voice had a sad undertone._

“ _Maybe.” Donghyun chuckled. It was the first time he had laughed since they had met. “What if you met someone who was like that? Who had something to hold onto and who thought differently, would you like him more than me?”_

“ _Why would I?” He gently patted Donghyun's head. “You're life is worth a lot to me, no matter who else I'll meet.”_

_That was the first and last time he saw Donghyun smile brightly. He looked like Daehyun._

 

“ _Why does everyone always like you better?” Sung Joon pouted. “Isn't that unfair? Shouldn't there be someone for me too?”_

“ _There is, probably.” He focused on making his meal. It was uncomfortable to be alone with the other. Every time he looked at Sung Joon, he was reminded of all the things the other had taken away from him, simply because he couldn't have them._

“ _I want someone who looks like Donghyun. Shouldn't he have six doppelgänger? I'll find all of them and keep them for myself. You're fine with just Donghyun?”_

“ _Sure.” Youngjae rolled his eyes. Couldn't the other just go away?_

“ _That's a deal then.” Sung Joon grinned widely._

 

_He had loved Donghyun. That was one thing he was very certain of. Another thing that he was very certain of was, that he liked Daehyun a lot too. He wasn't sure whether he could speak of love when he only had known him for a few weeks. It was a fact though that they got along almost too well. He liked to cook, Daehyun liked to eat. He liked to teach and explain, Daehyun liked to listen and learn. They complemented each other, it was as if they were two parts of a whole._

_Daehyun made him forget and he made him happy. Donghyun might have been his first love but Daehyun was the one he wanted to stay with forever._

 

“ _Youngjae...” It wasn't more than a whimper._

“ _Donghyun!” It felt as if his chest was stabbed with hundreds of knifes._

_Donghyun lay on the floor of the kitchen in the cottage. His lower body was covered in blood and he was barely breathing._

“ _Donghyun!” Desperately calling his name out again and again, he knelt beside him, shaking his shoulder to keep him awake._

“ _I guess in the end, I'm just like your pet dog.” Donghyun mumbled, his voice so weak that it could barely be heard. “Will you miss me?”_

“ _Don't speak like that.” He was crying, harder than he had ever cried in his life. “You'll be fine. I'll heal your injuries and then-” He chocked on his words._

“ _You're not a doctor.” Donghyun's eyes kept shutting. “I'm going to bleed to death and there's nothing you can do.”_

“ _I'll become one, I'll become a doctor.” He grabbed the other's hand and held it as if his life depended on it. “I won't let you die, I promised I'd pro-”_

“ _It's not your fault.” Donghyun looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Don't blame yourself, it was my own stupidity. I shouldn't have hung out with Sung Joon. You were right.” His voice became quieter and raspier with every word. “It's not your fault...”_

“ _Don't go!” he yelled at Donghyun when his eyes closed for the last time. “You've survived so much and now… Don't just give up like this! Please, I-” His voice broke. Before he knew it, he was sobbing uncontrollably._

“ _Why are you crying?”_

_He froze._

_Sung Joon stood right behind him, not one single trace of guilt in his voice. “We had a deal, remember?”_

“ _What?” Confused, he turned and looked up at the other with robotic movements. His voice was hoarse from crying._

“ _You said you were fine with just Donghyun. All of his doppelgänger belong to me. He doesn't belong to you. I can do whatever I want. He even likes me better.” Sung Joon grinned wickedly._

_Suddenly, he wasn't in their cottage. He was kneeling on the ground of an empty warehouse. He didn't kneel beside a bruised Donghyun, dressed in a tank top and leather pants that had been ripped off. He was kneeling beside Daehyun, stripped completely, blood dripping down his thighs._

_Daehyun opened his mouth, apparently desperately trying to say something to him._

 

Youngjae was wide awake within the blink of an eye, Daehyun's voice still ringing in his ears.

 

“Youngjae… Help me!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you are wondering, that Youngjae hears Daehyun, who actually only wished for help in thought is a soulmate thing that can happen when they desperately need the other one, just a small detail that probably won't be mentioned any further ^^' In this AU, Soulmates are quite rare/they rarely meet, noone really knows anything about them, so Jaedae also won't know about soulmates nor really think about it


	14. Chapter 14

He wouldn't let that happen again. He wasn't going to lose Daehyun to Sung Joon. He could still save him, if only he was fast enough. This time, he wouldn't be too late.

These kind of thoughts kept running through Youngjae's head. He had been running for what felt like an eternity without feeling even the slightest trace of exhaustion. The only thing that mattered was that he got to Daehyun on time. He knew where he had to go. It was just a feeling but Daehyun had to be there. He had seen him lying on the floor of that warehouse, calling for his help. Though it had been a dream, he was certain everything he had seen and heard was real. He didn't know why but this was one of the things he had been the most certain of in his life.

It took him way too long to get to the warehouse. It was far outside of the city, abandoned somewhere in the middle of nowhere. While Sung Joon had brought Donghyun somewhere he knew Youngjae would find them, it seemed that this time he didn't want to be interrupted. Donghyun could have never become his but Sung Joon probably thought that Daehyun could. After all, they indeed had a deal. Youngjae hadn't paid much attention to what Sung Joon had said back then but apparently he had been serious. In Sung Joon's opinion, everyone who looked like Donghyun belonged to him. That was the deal. He was twisted enough to think that humans could actually belong to someone. Well, most of his kind thought like this, at least those of the upper classes.

The first thing Youngjae saw when he entered the warehouse was the dead body of Daehyun's senior. Served him right for working with Sung Joon. The smell of blood made him feel a little dizzy.

“How did you get here?” Sung Joon was farther inside of the warehouse. He got up slowly, tilting his head slightly. “You weren't supposed to come here. He is mine anyway, remember?”

Youngjae slowly came closer, afraid of what he was going to see. Even when he was a few metres away, he could already smell the blood. Daehyun's smelled sweeter than the senior's blood, a lot more delicious. He was disgusted by himself.

“You can't just break our deal like that.” Sung Joon took a few steps in his direction, revealing the body behind him.

Daehyun's upper body seemed to be lying on the floor but he was resting on his knees, legs spread. Blood was running down his thighs and dripping on the floor.

Youngjae's heart stopped for a short moment. “Daehyun!” He ran past Sung Joon and fell onto his knees beside Daehyun.

“Youngjae...” Daehyun's voice was weak and hoarse. “You came.” He smiled weakly. “I thought I could do this on my own.”

“Why would you do this, you idiot.” Youngjae was close to crying. He felt helpless. “Did I ever give you a reason to think that I wouldn't help you?”

“It's not your fault. Why do you always blame yourself?” Daehyun tried to support himself with his arms but his body was shaking too much. Instead, he reached for Youngjae's hand. “It hurts so much, Youngjae.” If he hadn't shed so many tears already, he would probably be crying. “I wanted to endure it and get your book back but I don't think I can.”

“Don't worry about that.” Youngjae tried to take Daehyun's hand but a kick into his back made him fall down face-first.

“What do you think you're doing?” Sung Joon asked through gritted teeth and applied more pressure onto Youngjae's back. “Don't touch my belongings without asking.”

Groaning, Youngjae turned around with all his strength, making the other tumble. He quickly got up and prepared to fight back but was thrown onto the floor a few metres farther.

Sung Joon chuckled. “Do you really think you're a match for me? Even if you've finally started to feed properly again, you've just run until here, didn't you? You must be exhausted and if you weren't, I'd still be stronger than you.” He grabbed Daehyun by his hair and yanked him up on his knees, making him cry out in pain. “Look, isn't he such a pretty boy? Just like Donghyun.”

“Let go of him.” Youngjae slowly got up. He had to make sure not to provoke the other when he was this close to Daehyun. “Please.”

“Why would I?” Sung Joon raised his eyebrows. “I can do to him whatever I want. He's mine after all.”

“Please, just let him go, we can talk about this, can't we? Just...” Seeing Daehyun's pained and scared facial expression made his heart ache. When Youngjae had saved the other from Sung Joon the last time, he had promised himself to make sure that Daehyun would never make that expression again. Why did he always fail those who meant something to him? “Don't hurt him anymore.” he pleaded.

“I'm not hurting him.” Sung Joon said and smirked. “He says he likes it. And he says he likes me better.” He knelt down so that he was at Daehyun's eye level, grabbed his chin and forced him to look at him. “Isn't that right?”

“Yes.” Daehyun's voice was trembling. “That's right.” His whole body was shaking as well. It would have been obvious to anyone that he was scared and hurting but not to Sung Joon.

Sung Joon was too fixated on being better than Youngjae. He would believe anything that indicated he indeed was. He had always been twisted. Youngjae and he were grown up together. He had been twisted back then already. It seemed like he couldn't distinguish between affection and every other way of physical contact. Nobody knew why. His parents had never hit him. He had just hurt those he liked without reason and then wondered why they ran off. Sometimes he seemed to like hurting others, sometimes he seemed to despise it. There had to be something wrong with his brain, it couldn't be explained otherwise. Psychotherapy, medication, nothing had worked. The only thing his parents had been able to do was to take his book away and kick him out. They had protected their own people by letting Sung Joon out to do whatever he want with humans. Not that they had cared about humans anyway.

“See?” Sung Joon pecked Daehyun's cheek. “I guess we're really meant for each other. Donghyun was yours and Daehyunnie's mine. That's only fair.”

Youngjae nodded slowly. It was no use arguing with Sung Joon. He wouldn't be able to convince him, no matter what he said. He needed to distract him somehow so that he could free Daehyun.

“You acknowledge our deal, right?” Sung Joon wrapped one arm around Daehyun's waist and stood up, pulling Daehyun up with him.

Daehyun whimpered at the movement. His legs were shaking so much that he would have fallen to the ground again if not for the arm around his waist. The bleeding still hadn't stopped.

“If you treat him well.” Youngjae carefully took a step closer. “Promise me at least that.” Another careful step.

“Of course I will.” Sung Joon sounded almost cheerful. “Now that I've finally got him, I want to keep him for a while. He's such a perfect plaything. I almost feel sorry for you that you couldn't really enjoy him while you had him. You didn't really had a lot of time to play with Donghyun too. Initially, I planned on lending you Daehyunnie for a few more days but he probably doesn't want to anyway since he likes me better.”

“I understand.” Youngjae nodded, as if agreeing to everything the other had said. “But you should get him treated right now.”

“He'll survive bleeding a little.” With his free hand, Sung Joon caressed Daehyun's cheek. “And once I've marked him, we'll live somewhere no one can find us and be happy together.”

Luckily, Sung Joon hadn't marked Daehyun yet. It would have made things unnecessarily complicated. Once Daehyun would officially be Sung Joon's, Youngjae really couldn't help him anymore. Only humans would have been able to separate Sung Joon and Daehyun then since they wouldn't notice the mark. However, he wasn't sure how that would affect Daehyun. Being forcefully marked and then being taken away from the person that had marked him wasn't exactly common. Also, humans would never be able to deal with Sung Joon. “He's bleeding quite a lot though. Shouldn't I take a quick look at him? I'm a medical student, remember. I should be able to treat him.”

“Right, you decided to pursue medical studies after you couldn't save Donghyun.” Sung Joon chuckled but shook his head. “I don't trust you with him. You might do something fishy and take him away.”

“Then get him treated by someone else.” Youngjae tried to sound pleading. While it was true that Daehyun needed to get his injuries treated, he definitely didn't want some random doctor to take care of him. Not only did he not trust human doctors, they also would ask too many questions. “Just make sure he is taken care of at all.”

“I'll treat him myself once I've gotten rid of you. Or rather, he probably won't need to be taken care of once I'm done. Remember when I told you that I'll break both of you into pieces?” Sung Joon smiled wickedly. “I think I'm almost done with him. You didn't actually believe any of my acting just now, did you?”

Well, to be honest, Youngjae had believed him because Sung Joon had always been like he had behaved until now. Then again, he hadn't seen him for years. Sung Joon must have changed over the years. So did Youngjae. They both weren't kids anymore. It seemed like Sung Joon wasn't as much of a childish, impulsive player anymore. He should have already noticed that when Sung Joon didn't take his time to play with them like he used to.

“As if I'd still care about Donghyun and his doppelgänger.” Sung Joon rolled his eyes. “It's fun to toy with Daehyunnie because he's Daehyunnie and not because he's Donghyun's doppelgänger. Don't you like him as well because of his own personality and not because of his resemblance to someone else?”

Something in Daehyun's pained, tear-stained face made it obvious that he was quite interested in Youngjae's answer, despite the situation he was in. Youngjae however didn't think this was the right timing to confess his feelings. Instead, he had to take care of Sung Joon somehow. “So what are you planning to do next?”

“I don't know yet.” Sung Joon shrugged. “It's fun to see how much it affects you that Daehyunnie's hurt. Maybe I should just kill him in front of you and enjoy your reaction.”

Youngjae made a deep sound at the back of his throat, similar to a growl.

“On the other hand, Daehyunnie likes you so much, it would be exciting to see his reaction to you getting hurt as well. You know,” he pulled Daehyun to stand in front of him and back-hugged him. “he only came here to get your book back.”  
“What?” Youngjae's eyes widened. Daehyun had said something about a book before. He just hadn't thought it was _his_ book. He hadn't even noticed that Sung Joon had taken it.

“He doesn't even know the purpose of it, I simply told him you'd be in trouble and he immediately agreed. Isn't it cute how he wants to protect you even though he's just a useless human?” Sung Joon laughed as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

Youngjae gritted his teeth and clenched his hands. “You bastard.”

“Well, I've decided for the middle ground.” Sung Joon let Daehyun drop onto the floor. “I'll immobilise you, then I'll play with Daehyunnie until he ultimately breaks and kill you afterwards.” Despite his cheerful tone, his face was that of a predator.

“Then go ahead and try.” Youngjae growled. He wasn't going to lose. Not when Daehyun's life was on the line. Sung Joon was stronger but he was faster. He did have a chance against him.

And then, they started to fight each other. Not like humans would fight, but like animals that were battling for the same prey.


	15. Chapter 15

“Youngjae...” Daehyun's voice was barely audible. Though he could barely move, he couldn't just stay watching.

While Youngjae was able to avoid or dodge most of Sung Joon's attacks, he wasn't really able to counterattack. Sung Joon fought like a beast, uncontrolled, without much technique, simply aiming at bringing his opponent down.

Youngjae, on the other hand, had obviously been trained to fight. His attacks were precise, directed only at Sung Joon's weakest points. However, Sung Joon countered with sheer force, sometimes even making Youngjae stumble a few steps backwards. Luckily, he regained his former position very quickly. While it didn't seem like Youngjae was losing, he wasn't winning either. At this moment, both Daehyun and Youngjae could only hope that Sung Joon would get tired sooner than Youngjae, since his movements were a lot more ineffective than Youngjae's.

Daehyun tried to come to Youngjae's help but he wasn't able to get up. His legs were shaking, his lower body hurting and he had lost a lot of blood. Letting out a frustrated groan, he put all his strength into this one movement until he was standing, shaky and heavily breathing but standing. There had to be something he could do, even if only to distract Sung Joon.

“Stay where you are!” Youngjae yelled, only sparing him a quick look before he focused on Sung Joon again. When he dodged the next attack, he avoided it by jumping to the side, so that he stood in front of Daehyun.

“Look at how you're trying to protect each other.” Sung Joon giggled. “And you're only making yourself more and more vulnerable.” He suddenly sprinted, running around Youngjae towards Daehyun.

Youngjae didn't hesitate to throw himself between them. He groaned in pain when Sung Joon punched him straight into his stomach, yet managed not to fall over.

“See, you're sacrificing yourself without thinking. How does it feel,” he grinned at Daehyun. “to watch your dear Youngjae to get hurt because of you?”

Daehyun let out a muffled cry. That was the opposite of what he had intended to do. He always got Youngjae in trouble. Youngjae was now in a fight because he had been unable to defend himself and now he even got hurt because of him. Wasn't there a way he could be useful for the other just once?

“Fuck you!” Youngjae spat and harshly pushed Sung Joon away, making him tumble a few steps backwards. “If you ever come near him again,” he practically threw himself at the other, “I'll. Fucking. Break. Every. Single. Bone. In. Your. Rotten. Body.”

Each word was accompanied by a punch directed at Sung Joon, who dodged a few and simply laughed at those that hit him. His face was a bloody mess but he didn't stop laughing. “You're finally losing you're composure. I've always wanted to see that again after you freaked out after Donghyun's death.”

Youngjae growled. He was kneeling over Sung Joon, breathing heavily.

“You're always acting so noble and sophisticated but you're just a beast once I've pulled your trigger.” Sung Joon turned his head to spit out some blood. “Honestly, it's satisfying to no end that I have this sort of power over you.”

“You don't.” Youngjae hissed through gritted teeth.

Sung Joon let out an insane laughter. “Of course I do. I'm the only one who can make you lose your composure like that. You've always been a higher rank than me, yet I'm the one controlling you.” He looked at Daehyun, who was struggling to keep standing. “You know, even when his family used me to get rid of my parents, I never let myself be controlled. See how weak Youngjae is?”

“What?” Youngjae sounded stunned.

“As if you didn't know.” Sung Joon didn't seem like he would ever stop laughing. “My parents let me stay with your family so I'd spy on you, since they had planned for generations to take over the power. And your parents let me stay with you because they were planning to use me against my parents. Though in the end, my parents sent me away. That's why I gave your parents the information on where and when to assassinate them. You really didn't know?” He laughed even more. “Seems like you really didn't. Well, it's not like that matters, anyway. It's just a fact that you've always used your status, you simply don't know how to survive on your own, which is exactly why it's so easy for me to drag you down.”

Youngjae laughed bitterly. “While that might be true, unlike you, I don't have to fight alone because I don't kill everyone I meet.”

“At least not anymore. You used to not have any problems killing humans before.” Sung Joon glanced at Daehyun. “Who knows when your opinion on humans will change again?”

Daehyun flinched, barely noticeable. He already was insecure about himself, being constantly reminded that Sung Joon and Youngjae were something else, something stronger, superior didn't help. They weren't actually equals. Youngjae could decide that he didn't want to keep Daehyun around every moment.

Youngjae turned around, eyes focused on Daehyun. He must have noticed his insecurity. “I won't change my mind. Not on this topic.” His voice was firm and his eyes pleading, as if asking Daehyun to believe him.

And Daehyun did. If they had been in their apartment, just the two, this would have been the moment when Youngjae would have pulled him into a comforting hug. They probably would have cuddled, maybe even kissed. Sadly, they were neither in their apartment nor were they alone.

Sung Joon snorted, then laughed at the annoyed looks both gave him. “The atmosphere was getting too cheesy, I just had to ruin that moment. Besides, have you completely forgotten what situation you're in?” One smooth movement and Sung Joon was the one kneeling above Youngjae. “I'm not letting you both live a happy life, not when mine is so fucked up.” He got a hold of Youngjae's wrists, who was too startled to fight back. “Even though you heal faster than a human, when I break you're limbs, you won't heal in time to save Daehyunnie, right?” Youngjae groaned when Sung Joon's grip tightened slowly. “You shouldn't let yourself be distracted this easily, Youngjae.” He grinned, at least until something hit him from the side and made him fall to the ground next to Youngjae. “You-” He reached for Daehyun, who had thrown himself with all his left strength at him but Youngjae was faster.

It happened within the blink of an eye. Youngjae pushed Daehyun out of Sung Joon's reach and started to hit him. He looked like a monster.

Just when Daehyun thought he would continue to hit him until his skull was completely smashed, he stopped, heavily breathing. “Don't worry, he'll survive this. Our kind isn't that fragile.” His voice was shaky. “I'll call someone who'll take care of him so that he can never come near us again.” He searched Sung Joon's pocket, until he found what he had looked for. His book.

“What actually is this book about? Why is it so important?” Daehyun's voice was getting weaker but the other didn't seem to notice.

“It's both our ID and our return ticket.” Youngjae traced the back of the book with his fingers, seemingly lost in thought. “You aren't allowed to enter our city without the book, even if the Queen herself says that you're allowed. Sung Joon's was taken away after...” He gulped. It must still be difficult to grasp what Sung Joon had said about both their parents.

“Luckily you have it back.” Daehyun attempted to stand up but instead fell face-first onto to ground.

“Daehyun!” Youngjae yelled in surprise. He rushed to kneel beside him and pull him into his arms. “Don't you dare die on me!” Desperately, he held Daehyun tight while at the same time trying to take a look at his injuries. “God, you lost so much blood.”

“That Donghyun guy...” Daehyun's voice was really weak by now, barely audible.

“Don't speak.” Youngjae was close to crying. “I'll quickly treat your wounds and then get you to a hospital to get you a blood transfusion, just don't speak right now, save your strength to-”

Daehyun clutched Youngjae's shirt. “Just tell me.” he pleaded.

Youngjae didn't need further words to understand what he was talking about. “You've never been his replacement. From the very beginning, I've seen you as a person on your own.”

“Really?” Daehyun smiled, his eyes were already slowly closing.

“Yes, so don't die, understand? I don't think I'll be able to go on if I lose you, please-” Youngjae's voice cracked.

“Alright, I won't.” It was barely a whisper.

“Promise?”

Daehyun could tell Youngjae was crying by the way his shoulders were shaking. He opened his mouth to assure him he would be fine but no sound would come out. Frustrated, he tried to instead look at Youngjae assuringly but his eyes wouldn't focus. Everything started become blurred. Youngjae's desperate screams that were his name drowned in a piercing sound ringing in his ears.

This couldn't be the end yet. Not right now.

With these thoughts, he drifted away into unconsciousness.


	16. Epilogue Pt.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait and, I was busy anticipating B.A.P's comeback and doing tons of other stuff TT.TT

He focused only on Youngjae's smile in the back of the room.

Somehow he had convinced Daehyun's professors to let him be there when Daehyun had his exam. Maybe he had told them about his exam nerves, maybe he had bribed them, maybe he had used weird mind tricks, Daehyun couldn't care less. All that mattered was that he was there, smiling comfortingly at Daehyun whenever his voice shook a little.

He thought of it as singing for only Youngjae. Despite Youngjae having been present quite often when he had been singing, either when he had been performing in clubs or when he had been practising, he had never truly sang just for him. It had felt weird at first but not even thirty seconds into the song, he relaxed visibly, his voice became a lot more stable. Eventually, he started to trust his skills and voice more to put emotion and different variations into his singing, encouraged by Youngjae's proud smile. The minutes that had always seemed like they didn't want to pass practically flew by. By the end of the song, he had already forgotten that he was in an exam.

“I guess we have something to celebrate now.” Youngjae said cheerfully when they had left the room, his arm around Daehyun's shoulder, both to congratulate him and to stabilise his walking. While his wounds had mostly healed, he still had trouble walking for a longer time. Youngjae had suggested to carry him, half joking, half serious, which had only lead to a sulking Daehyun hitting him half-heartedly. “What do you want?”

Daehyun pretended to think, his eyes already sparkling with joy. “We haven't had pizza in a while.”

“Because that's really unhealthy.” Youngjae sighed a little but then grinned. “Well, let's order some then. Once in a while probably won't do too much harm.”

“Of course it won't.” Daehyun grinned widely. “Things you like never harm you.”

“That's not how things work.” Youngjae chuckled. “Life would be so easy if it was that way.” He waved his hand at a taxi. “Don't even think about complaining.” He raised an eyebrow at Daehyun who had already opened his mouth to say something. “You won't walk all the way to our apartment. You can choose between me carrying you there or taking a taxi.”

Pouting, Daehyun got into the taxi without saying anything. He really was annoyed by how long his body took to heal and by how much his injuries restrained him from living his life like he used to, though it was only for a short time. Of course, Youngjae always knew what was the best for him and forced him to more or less acknowledge that he shouldn't overdo it at the moment. He knew that Youngjae was right. It still sucked.

Youngjae slightly nudged his side, apparently trying to cheer him up. “You know, there's nothing wrong with needing help once in a while.”

Daehyun smiled weakly and nodded. He knew that but that didn't make this any easier. Ever since his parents had died, he had to somehow get by on his own. His foster parents weren't any helpful. Just when he had thought he finally had made it, more or less at least, the Sung Joon thing had happened and now he was back to being as helpless as he had been when he had lost his parents. Though, this time he wasn't alone.

“You should sit straight, the seatbelt won't protect you when it presses against your neck instead of your bones.” Youngjae nagged when Daehyun leaned against his shoulder and slightly pushed him into an upright position but instead wrapped his arm around Daehyun's waist. Daehyun had basically been in a constant need for physical affection after what had happened to him and Youngjae would always make sure to be as affectionate as he needed to be, from subtle contact when they where in public to long cuddles and pecks in their apartment. He had been careful when it came to feeding since Daehyun's body was still weakened but since Daehyun was getting better, he could feed a little from time to time. Sometimes Daehyun even initiated the kiss, usually when they were cuddling on the couch and watching a film.

 

They arrived at their apartment the same time the guy who delivered their pizza did, since Youngjae had already ordered when they still had been on the taxi.

Daehyun happily placed the pizza carton on the table and probably would have started to eat it right away if he hadn't remembered just in time that it was bad manners to start eating by himself. “Hurry up, I'm hungry.”

Youngjae chuckled as he took off his shoes and joined Daehyun. “Eat well.” As if he had to tell Daehyun. The other started to practically inhale the pizza. One could have thought that he hadn't eaten for days. It was good to see him eat though. The first few days after the Sung Joon incident, Youngjae had to force Daehyun to eat, which made the whole incident and state he had been in even more heartbreaking.

Daehyun suddenly seemed to notice that Youngjae had only stared at him instead of eating. “You should eat something too.” he mumbled with his mouth half-full and pushed the pizza carton slightly into Youngjae's direction.

“Sure.” Youngjae half-heartedly chewed on one slice of pizza while he enjoyed the sight of Daehyun eating happily as if nothing bad had ever happened. “We probably should have pizza more often, I forgot how good it is.”

“You don't even seem to like it.” Daehyun pointed at Youngjae's only half-eaten slice of pizza and pouted. “If you're not going to eat that-”

“I will.” Youngjae rolled his eyes. “Unlike you, I'm a slow eater, that doesn't mean I don't like my food.”

“If you say so.” Daehyun mumbled and disappointedly eyed the empty pizza carton. “What about dessert?” How could he still be hungry after eating almost a whole pizza alone?

“I don't think we have any.” Youngjae had thrown away the cheesecakes Sung Joon had bought. They also hadn't gone grocery shopping since the incident. In fact, today had been the first day to leave the house. Before, Daehyun had been ordered to not leave his bed in order to heal by Youngjae, who hadn't left his side for even a few minutes. “Should we go buy something? It's not that late yet.”

“Don't want to.” Daehyun yawned lazily and stretched himself. “I'm too worn out.”

Youngjae snorted. “We literally left the house for only two hours, what could you possibly have done to be tired?”

“Singing is very tiring, especially when it's for an exam. I put a lot of effort in, you know.” Daehyun pouted and slightly turned away from Youngjae, pretending to be angry. “I don't deserve this disrespect.”

Rolling his eyes once again, yet chuckling, Youngjae stood up and threw away the empty carton. “Let's watch a film then? Or is there anything else you want to do that isn't too tiring?”  
“Are you mocking me?” Daehyun followed him to the sofa and hit his arm lightly, grinning at Youngjae's exaggerated gasp and pained facial expression. “Anyway, film sounds good.” He let himself fall onto the sofa and pulled the other with him so that they were sitting side by side. “What about horror?”

“No way.” Youngjae grimaced. “You know I can't watch these kind of things.”

“You are something superhuman but you can't watch films about superhuman things?” Daehyun really liked to make fun of him for that and he hated it.

“About creepy superhuman things, no and there's nothing wrong with that. Films can be exciting without demons and splatter too.” He crossed his arms in defence. “Also, I'm not a coward in real life, isn't that all that matters?”

“Probably.” Daehyun giggled and snuggled against him. “I don't mind it anyway. We can just watch a romance drama.”

Youngjae sighed dramatically but they both knew he didn't dislike romance as much as he pretended to. After all, these kind of dramas did create a nice atmosphere and they didn't make him think that he would die any moment from a heart attack. “Let's do that then.” He pressed a kiss on Daehyun's temple when reaching for the remote control and Daehyun leaned closer towards him, if that was even possible.

It couldn't have been any more perfect at the moment. Sung Joon was locked up in a place far away, Daehyun was getting better and better and had even passed his exam. Finally, nothing would stop them anymore from living a happy life.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the first part of the plot ends.   
> I already have a second part in mind, just need to find a good way to start it. It will contain Mpreg though (since it's already supernatural, I might as well just go all out lol) so if you're uncomfortable with that, I suggest you stop reading here. Otherwise, the next chapter will be up as soon as possible :)  
> Also, how I ended the chapter was kind of crappy but I couldn't come up with any more fluff so I had to end it at that point, bear with it please :D


	17. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this while streaming Honeymoon, no wonder it took me like forever to finish it, how am I supposed to focus on writing while watching and listening to this perfection

“Is something bothering you?” Youngjae raised an eyebrow at Daehyun's facial expression, which seemed to be a mixture of annoyance and fear. “Was something wrong?”

Today had been the first time Daehyun had went to university without Youngjae taking him there and picking him up afterwards. The other had to study for his exam and Daehyun hadn't wanted him to waste his time by accompanying him when he could totally walk on his own. His injuries had healed completely, his mental state was also a lot better. He wasn't afraid anymore of being alone with a lot of people he didn't know anymore, he could even shake someone's hand without flinching at the physical contact. Finally, everything seemed to be getting back to normal, or at least it had seemed that way. The only issue was, that apparently Sung Joon, his former senior and Youngjae weren't the only not so human people that were currently going to university. In fact, today three others had made advances to him. According to them, they had noticed before that he smelled quite delicious, they just hadn't dared to approach him when Youngjae was with him. Since his injuries hadn't healed completely when he had gone to university for the first time after the incident, these guys probably had smelled his blood and liked the scent of it and now, they wanted him to allow them to drink his blood. As if he would ever let anyone do that. While he was thankful that they had at least not tried to force him, the fact that they had tried to seduce him for the whole day was quite annoying. Also, that he could shake someone's hand didn't mean that he was okay with strangers randomly touching him because they thought that was an appropriate way to win someone's heart. “I got a new professor who's just really annoying.” That wasn't the whole truth but at least it wasn't a lie. He didn't want Youngjae to worry when he could probably handle these guys on his own. “He's one of those who asks questions in the middle of his lecture and of course, he almost always picked me to answer them.”

Youngjae rolled his eyes. “I have one of them too, that's really the worst kind. Can't they just let us sleep in peace?” He motioned Daehyun to sit at the table. “Anyway, come and eat something.”

Suspiciously, Daehyun eyed the food. Just yesterday, Youngjae had disguised a mixture of tofu and mushrooms as meat because apparently they should reduce their meat consumption. “You're not trying to play a trick on me again, right?”

“No, this time it's real meat.” Chuckling, Youngjae ate one piece as if wanting to prove it to him. “See?”

Daehyun slowly chewed on a piece of meat, then sighed relieved when he was certain that he was indeed eating meat. “You know, my body needs meat to gain it's former strength, you can't just feed me weird stuff.”

“What strength?” Youngjae jokingly mumbled under his breath. “The one time you've been to the gym didn't do much.”

Daehyun huffed. “Anyway, you shouldn't spend your time thinking about what we should be eating, as students we don't really have the time for that. Also, for you it doesn't really matter what you're eating as long as you also feed as well, right?”

“You really just want to eat what you like no matter how unhealthy it is.” Youngjae rolled his eyes. “Don't complain to me when you'll get fat.”

This kind of nagging had become like a routine for them because it distracted them from what had happened. Like that, they were able to go back to their daily life and they had managed to do quite well so far. Another routine was that they usually watched a film or a drama after their dinner and most of all, they cuddled a lot. Daehyun felt safe and comfortable when he was close to Youngjae, while Youngjae liked to watch over Daehyun and to make sure he was fine. Also, they simply enjoyed being close to each other. They even had placed their beds right next to the other because it helped with Daehyun's nightmares when he was next to Youngjae.

When they had finished their meal, Youngjae started to clean the dishes while Daehyun wrapped up the leftovers. “Apart from that professor, how was it today?”

“Fine, I guess.” Daehyun shrugged. “We're practising a quite difficult piece right now but I think I'm doing well, since it's only the first time I've sung it. And your studies?”

“I'm making a progress but I'm far from being prepared thoroughly.” Youngjae sighed and ruffled his hair, leaving a trace of washing-up liquid behind. He must be really tired if he couldn't even focus properly on doing the dishes. “Would you...” He hesitated. “Since everything was fine today...”

“I can go by myself tomorrow as well.” Daehyun quickly said. It was obvious that Youngjae needed as much time to study and also to rest as possible. “You don't need to worry about me. Worry about your exam and your hair.”

“What's wrong with my hair?” Frowning, Youngjae reached to touch his hair but then noticed the liquid on his hands and groaned. “All this studying must have ruined my concentration.”

Chuckling, Daehyun grabbed some tissues and wiped the other's hair, not that it did much. “Go wash your hair, I'll finish the cleaning.”

“Thanks.” Youngjae pecked Daehyun's cheek and went to the bathroom, leaving the other alone in the kitchen.

Blushing, Daehyun cleaned up what Youngjae hadn't cleaned yet, before letting himself drop onto the sofa and sighing. Was it really the right choice to not tell Youngjae anything? The last time he had kept things a secret, he had ended up in a warehouse with a lunatic. However, this time he was absolutely sure that he could handle those guys on his own. If he was mistaken, he could still tell the other. Since he would only meet them at his university where there would be many other people, they couldn't do anything to him anyway and so far, they also hadn't tried to do anything to him, other than touching him just a little in ways that no one else would notice and they were definitely less crazy than Sung Joon. As long as he felt that he had everything under control, he wouldn't bother Youngjae.

“Gosh, I'm tired.” Youngjae was already wearing his pyjamas. He fell onto the spot right next to Daehyun. Only a few centimetres to the left and he would have landed on the other's lap. “Studying really sucks out my energy.”  
Daehyun jokingly rolled his eyes at the other's whining. “You should have chosen another major then. It's not a secret that medical students have to study a lot.”

“Well,” Youngjae shrugged and smirked at Daehyun. “it's not like I can't get that energy back.” Lately, he had been feeding more often and Daehyun's body finally seemed to get used to it, so that he didn't feel tired afterwards anymore.

Grinning, Daehyun leaned closer. “What are you waiting for then?” he almost whispered, closing his eyes and connecting their lips.

 


	18. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If B.A.P doesn't win at MCountdown, I'll seriously cry, y'all better go streaming >.<

“A No is and will forever be a No.” Daehyun rolled his eyes and shrugged the other's arm off, or rather, he tried to but the other was really persistent.

“You've never even tried. I heard it actually feels quite good for the humans.” He smirked and pulled Daehyun even closer, ignoring his struggling. “How about I'll immediately stop as soon as it hurts or-”

“How about no?” Daehyun managed to free himself by stomping on the other's foot. At least the constant bothering was advantageous in the aspect that he had less and less troubles with his body getting rigid and immobile and his brain recognizing that he wasn't always in incredible danger when strangers touched him, since he was getting used to it, somehow. “Just let me go to my classes in peace.”

“I am.” Annoyance no.1 (Daehyun wasn't going to bother learning the name of someone he didn't want in his life anyway) pouted as if he had been gravely wronged. “I only talk to you in the breaks and even walk you to your classes.”

“Which means you're basically always around me when I'm not at my classes, which is annoying too.”

While at least the other two didn't bother him when he was with no.1, apparently they had some kind of agreement not to all bother him at once, Daehyun definitely would have preferred to be left alone completely, especially since the others had set their mind on seducing him to make him change his mind and they didn't know at all how to do this. Today, the other had attempted to feed him as if he was a little child in the middle of the cafeteria, which had of course been embarrassing as hell and didn't help with the fact that most of the other students in his classes babied him all the time anyway because he was the youngest. If anything, it made him dislike the other even more. Maybe they had different etiquettes where they came from but humans usually didn't fall for someone who would always annoy them, at least Daehyun definitely wouldn't. Not that he hadn't told them, they just didn't care. Either because they were like the people who always thought they were being rejected only because the other didn't want to seem easy by accepting a proposal immediately or because he was only a little human who would change his mind anyway as soon as he would see how well these superhumans could take care of him. More often than not it seemed to be the latter. Apparently they thought that their kind was superior in every way possible. In fact, physically they were superior indeed and according to Youngjae, technically as well but that didn't mean humans were dumber or easier to manipulate.

Either way, he needed a good plan to rid himself of them. At least they seemed to have some common sense, very little but at least enough to understand that it was very impolite to just attack someone and drink his blood without said person's consent, even if they thought he was inferior. There must be some rules that superhumans and humans would have in common, even if their style of flirting was as different as it could be. He could start from there.

 

“I'll walk you home.” Annoyance no.2 had suddenly appeared out of nowhere when he was about to leave the campus.

“As if I'd let you know where I live.” Daehyun walked faster but so did the other. Sadly, he could be running as fast as he could and it still would be a piece of a cake for the other to follow him, so running away wasn't really an option, at least not a realistic one.

“I promise I won't break into your house or something but since you're never on your own at university, this is the only time I can have you for myself.” the other said, almost cheerfully and grabbed Daehyun's hand, ignoring his attempts to pull away. “And since it's in the afternoon, there will be people everywhere, so you also don't have to worry about me doing anything to you.”

“That doesn't change the fact that I'll never let you drink my blood. I'm not your food.” Daehyun rolled his eyes but gave up on trying to free himself. Instead, he just followed the other, who weirdly knew exactly where to go. “Have you followed me before?”

“Maybe.” Annoyance no.2 blushed a little. “You see, I haven't only noticed you since a few days before… I might have kept an eye on you for a while.”

Daehyun raised his eyebrows. Did that mean he had a crush on him or what?

“Oh, and I'd never think of you as only food.” the other hastily said, remembering what Daehyun had stated before. “I'd like to get you know as a person as well.” He turned his head to grin at Daehyun. “How about we go out to eat or something this weekend? And I'm talking about real food, not about me eating you.” He winked.

Now that gave Daehyun an idea how to get rid of him. “Um, sorry but...” Daehyun pretended to hesitate, as if he felt sorry for the other and, more importantly, as if he was actually telling the truth. “I already have a boyfriend.” Actually, that wasn't even a complete lie. While Youngjae and Daehyun weren't officially dating, they did behave like a couple, at least Daehyun liked to think of it that way. Also, even if he would get another boyfriend, he would constantly be cheating on him with Youngjae, so he couldn't really date someone else anyway.

Annoyance no.2 stopped walking in an instant, making Daehyun almost fall as he was still holding his hand. “It's that guy that always brought you to university, isn't it?”

If he hadn't always been this annoying, Daehyun would've almost felt guilty seeing his sad face. He only nodded, trying to look at least a little bit sorry.

“Do you let him drink your blood? You'd smell slightly differently then.” The other was frowning.

Daehyun didn't bother asking how the other knew that Youngjae wasn't human. He probably could smell that or something. “No, relationships usually aren't only about this kind of thing.”

“Relationships between humans and our kind usually are.” He tilted his head and let go of Daehyun's hand. “Maybe you're being a little bit delusional. I wonder how long he'll wait for your permission.”

“Don't badmouth someone you don't even know.” Daehyun felt anger boiling inside him. Every least bit of pity he might have felt was gone.

“We all are the same after all, no matter how noble we might appear on the outside.” Annoyance no.2 shrugged. “If you're going to be naive, then be. At some point, he'll either make you agree with him or take what he wants by force.”

“Look, I understand that you're disappointed I won't be going out with you or let you drink my blood but you don't have the right to talk about him like this. You don't even know him.” Daehyun gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

The other laughed, his smile not so friendly. “Of course I do. Everyone does. People who are born in positions of power are even bigger monsters. You'll see that soon. The second he marks you, you will have no say in your own life anymore. Maybe not even now.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Daehyun was about to attack the other. He didn't stand a chance but that wouldn't stop him from fighting someone who was talking bullshit about Youngjae.

“Anyway, good luck with your boyfriend.” Annoyance no.2 completely ignored him and left without saying anything farther.

Daehyun wasn't exactly satisfied with how their conversation had turned out but at least he was very sure that he had one problem less.

By the time he had gotten home, he had already forgotten most of what the other had said.

 

Youngjae eyed him amusedly. “Today must have been better than yesterday.”

“It was very successful, indeed.” Daehyun couldn't help being somewhat excited that his plan had worked out so well.

Chuckling, Youngjae sat on the sofa with Daehyun following. He seemed to be genuinely happy that Daehyun was better now. “So that means you're making progress with that difficult piece?”

“Um, yes.” Luckily, Youngjae had given him the reason for being happy himself, since he couldn't tell him the truth.

“Let me hear it sometime.” Youngjae hummed and wrapped his arms around Daehyun's upper body to cuddle.

“Sure.” Daehyun hummed and let himself sink into the other's embrace. He loved how the other's warmth would spread all over his body, as if he was lying in a tub with warm water. Before he got too comfortable though, he propped himself up and pecked Youngjae's lips, as if he was going for a kiss but instead he shrugged the other's arms off and stood up, making his way towards their bedroom.

With a confused look on his face, Youngjae got up and went after him. “What was that supposed to mean?” Usually when Daehyun was the one to make the first move, they would end up kissing. Youngjae was the one who liked to tease.

“Nothing, why?” Daehyun grinned. They would see whether he really had no say in their relationship. In fact, he was positive that he was able to make Youngjae do whatever he wanted if only he was patient enough to tease him for quite a while.

“Just...” Youngjae seemed stunned by this new side of Daehyun. “Nothing, I guess.” He tried to pull Daehyun close again, who avoided his arms. “What's wrong with you today?” He was almost pouting. Almost, of course. He had some pride.

“Should there be something wrong with me?” Daehyun hummed, not being able to hide his amusement. He reached for a lollipop from the inside of his bedside table, where he stored all of his sweets, just in case he would wake up hungry at night.

“Don't you dare.” Youngjae groaned, watching Daehyun's every movement.

“Doing what?” Daehyun innocently asked while unwrapping the lollipop.

“Being such a tease.” Youngjae snatched the lollipop from Daehyun's hands, much to his dislike.

“Give me that.” Daehyun stepped forward to retrieve his sweet but instead tripped over the clothes he had been to lazy to put into his wardrobe, making both of them fall onto Daehyun's bed, with Daehyun leaning over Youngjae. Daehyun gulped. This wasn't really what he had intended to do. He had actually wanted to tease the other some more but then again he wasn't a patient person anyway.

“May I get my kiss now?” Youngjae asked and smirked at the blush that crept over Daehyun's face, who noted that the other had used the word “kiss” instead of “dinner”. “Well, if you don't want to...” Youngjae shrugged but grinned at the same time because he knew exactly what Daehyun wanted. “Let's just get ready for bed then.”

“Who's being a tease now?” Daehyun mumbled as he cupped Youngjae's face in his hand and leant down, just enough to make their lips touch slightly but Youngjae pulled him down further. If Daehyun had thought, he would be the more dominant one because he was lying on top, he had been terribly wrong. As always his body betrayed him and gave in to whatever Youngjae did way too quickly, making it impossible to think straight. He moaned when the other slid his tongue into his mouth and closed his eyes in bliss.

If only these kind of moments would last forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm too lazy to come up with any names for the species and characters, so "superhumans" and "annyocance no." it is ^^'  
> Also, the ending is kind of abrupt but it's 5:15 AM and I really wanted to finish this chapter before I go to sleep


	19. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long, I'm sorry ㅠㅠ

“I'll get going, study hard.” Daehyun waved at Youngjae when he left, confident that he would be able to get rid of one more problem this day. He was sure annoyance no.2 wouldn't bother him anymore, which left 1 and 3. While no.1 openly approached and made advances to him when there were other people, no.3 usually appeared out of the blue and dragged him somewhere where they were alone before he said or did anything to him. Both were equally persistent and probably less easy to manipulate since they didn't seem to feel anything for him like no.2 did. However, as for no.1, he could make use of the fact that he always came to him in public, as well as that a lot of the other students, especially the girls where somewhat overprotective about him. Even though he wasn't really close with any of them, whenever he looked lost just the slightest bit lost or asked for help, they would do their best to help him and swoon over him as if he was some adorable child. While it was annoying as hell, being the beloved youngest student did have its advantages. Coincidentally, he had in fact already been asked once or twice whether the person that was always following him was harassing him or something, since he obviously wasn't pleased with the other following him all the time. He just needed to set up a situation where it would indeed look like the other was harassing him. The wrath of the other students would hopefully keep that guy away from him.

Of course, he felt a little bit sorry for the other, since this would go farther than just lying to someone about the details of his relationship with Youngjae. He had asked Youngjae though, why people of his kind would live in the human world and Youngjae had answered that except for when they were banned from entering where they usually lived, apparently they had their own city somewhere, they mainly just went there for the experience. Human education wasn't really worth anything for them so even if the other would have to leave university, it wouldn't matter that much. He could just go elsewhere or go home. Daehyun didn't want to ruin someone's life after all, he just wanted to be left alone.

Speaking of the devil. “Good morning.” Annoyance no.1 wrapped an arm around Daehyun's shoulders.

That wouldn't be enough to make it look like harassment and there weren't enough people around since he hadn't yet arrived at university, so Daehyun stayed quiet. Nervously, he kept looking around for other students. Suddenly he didn't feel so convinced by his plan anymore. Accusing someone of such things was quite a big deal and if something went wrong, he would be in a lot of trouble. Wasn't it a crime to slander someone? He couldn't think of another way to get rid of him though. It would already be hard enough with no.3. For now, he just did his best to appear both annoyed and intimidated. He could literally feel some other students pitying looks. A group of girls was frowning at them, more specifically at annoyance no.1.

“How was your day?” The other asked Daehyun cheerfully and pulled him a little closer, as always ignoring his attempts to free himself.

“The day has only just started and my answer is still no.” Daehyun mumbled, this time using a bit more force when trying to shake the other's arm off, so that his attempt would be clearly visible to others. “Is this really that hard to understand?”

No.1 chuckled and grinned at him. “I'm confident I can turn that into a yes, even if it might take a while.”

“Sure, dream on.” Daehyun rolled his eyes. “I might die from being annoyed but I'll never agree on something like this.”

“We'll see.” When they reached Daehyun's classroom, the other finally let go. “See you later.”

Daehyun let out a relieved sigh when the other left for his own classes. That relief vanished into thin air the moment he entered his classroom and felt several pairs of eyes looking in his direction. Of course he knew that for his plan to succeed, he _needed_ the others' attention but that didn't mean he _liked_ being stared at. Trying to make himself as small as possible, he went to his seat, avoiding to meet the others' eyes.

“Are you okay?” the girl that sat next to him immediately asked after he had sat down.

“Um, yeah… sure.” he mumbled and nervously pulled out some books out of his bag. His nervousness was partly for show, partly because this whole situation and what he was going to do freaked him out.

“Doesn't seem like it.” Another girl turned around in her seat. “Who is that guy?”

Daehyun hesitantly looked around, only to find the group of girls that had for some reason seated themselves around him from the very beginning staring holes into him. He had always called them the “mother club” because they were the ones that had babied him the most, or rather who had started the whole babying thing. “I don't really know him that much.” That wasn't even a lie. He didn't even knew the other's name, or at least he didn't remember it.

The girls' frown deepened. “So a total stranger keeps following you around the whole day?” one of them asked, her lips pressed into a thin line. “And he even… you know, touches you?”

“Is he stalking you?” Another one leaned forward as much as she could to meet his gaze, which he avoided by staring down at his table.

“Well… He doesn't follow me home, so…”

“But you don't want him to follow you, right? It didn't seem that way.”

Daehyun shrugged. “Not that he cares what I want.” He nervously nibbled on his lower lip. “I tried to get away from him but he won't leave, there's really not much I can do…” His eyes started to fill with tears that he was seemingly suppressing. He had always been good at pretending to cry. “It's kind of scary.”

“That bastard.” one of the girls mumbled under her breath, then quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry, pretend you didn't hear that.”

“Is there anything we can do to help you?” the girl that had spoke to him first asked worriedly. She reached to assuringly pat his shoulder but retreated when he flinched away. “Have you told a professor?”

Daehyun shyly shook his head. “No, it's too embarrassing.”

“It isn't, why would it be?” one of the girls cooed.

“I'm a man, I'm supposed to be strong and be able to defend myself.” Daehyun pouted. “It's not my fault that I won't grow any muscles no matter how hard I work out.” Technically he had only worked out once within the last two years but when he had worked out regularly during his high school years it hadn't done much so he wasn't really lying.

“You're so cute.” the girl on his left side squealed.

“It's okay to depend on others once in a while, even if you're a boy.” another one said. Daehyun frowned at how she used the word “boy” instead of “man” but well, that was what he was in their eyes after all. A twenty-one-year-old boy. “You know you can always tell us when you need help, right?”

“Thank you.” He flashed a bright smile at them, satisfied by how they blushed at that. He was about to add something when the professor entered and ultimately ended their conversation.

 

“Want to eat with us?”

Before he had a chance to open his mouth, Daehyun was dragged towards the cafeteria, earning himself some jealous glares from a few other boys. “Um, actually, I...” He tried to say that he preferred to go to the bakery nearby instead of getting cafeteria food, mainly to avoid getting embarrassed by others like annoyance no.1 did the previous day, but was shushed by one of the girls.

“It's not good that you're always eating by yourself. It's our second year and you haven't made one single friend. University is supposed to be a fun time where you make lots of friends and not where you spend your days alone in the practice room and god-knows-where.” one of them lectured him. “Besides, the stalker won't go near you when you're with others.”

“Yes mum.” Daehyun mumbled, not without rolling his eyes.

Giggling, the girls made their way to the cafeteria and dragged him along.

While their endless chattering and laughing was a little tiring, eating with a group of overly caring girls had some perks. For example that they kept giving him some of their meals. Or that annoyance no.1 wasn't able to sit close to him because all the seats were occupied and he was glared at whenever he attempted to make eye contact with Daehyun.

“So, did you tell your boyfriend about the stalker?” a girl that had introduced herself as Minjae asked him.

“Huh?” Confused, Daehyun raised his eyebrows, the pair of chopsticks still in his mouth. Boyfriend? Did they mean Youngjae?

“Why doesn't he walk you to university anymore, especially when that guy is… Wait, you didn't tell him, did you?”

“No, um, he has to focus on his exam at the moment, I don't want to drag him into this, so...”

“But what if he does something to you, you know,” the girl was almost whispering “aside from just following you.”

“I'm sure he won't.” Daehyun laughed nervously. “He's a bit creepy but I don't think he's a molester.”

“You never know, I thought my first boyfriend was a nice guy too.” Minjae grimaced. “Better tell your boyfriend, he'd want to know too.”

“To be honest, I don't know how to tell him.” Daehyun admitted. “He already got me out of trouble once, I don't want to always bother him. I think I can handle this by myself.” The last sentence sounded somewhat confident. He was definitely making progresses.

“It's okay to rely on others.” A girl patted his back in an attempt to console him. “If you don't want to tell your boyfriend, then at least let us help.”

“Thank you.” Daehyun smiled at them once again. “But you probably scared him away already, he won't even come near us.” He joined the girls' giggling and pointless conversation after the serious-talk was done, soon realising that the girls were almost as annoying as the other guy, just that they didn't want to drink his blood.

 

“I thought these girls would never leave you alone.” Annoyance no.1 sighed as he joined Daehyun on his way to leave the campus. “They sure have mastered the death stare.” He was about to wrap his arm around Daehyun's shoulder like he usually did but pulled back and instead put some distance between them when he noticed the girls glaring at him.

Daehyun smiled triumphantly. “What, do they scare you?”

“It's uncomfortable.” The other frowned. “What did you tell them?”

“Not that you want to drink my blood, if you're worried about that.” Daehyun grinned and exchanged a nod with the group of girls that were acting like his bodyguards from afar. “Just that I'm not exactly fond of you following and touching me.”

“God, do they think they're professional bodyguards or something?” No.1 snorted.

“It's more like a mother-complex.” Daehyun shrugged but was obviously satisfied. “You know that females are the most dangerous when they're protecting a child, or whomever they regard as that.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Maybe.” It seemed to be quite effective. Maybe he didn't even have to go farther. Maybe the threat of being torn apart by a group of angry girls would be enough.

“So what exactly does that mean now?” No.1 was still frowning and now folded his arms.

“If you leave me alone, nothing. If you don't...” Daehyun ran his finger across his neck.

“What if I just take you with me? How will your girlfriends help you then?”

Daehyun laughed, slightly nervous. “You wouldn't do that. You would've already done it if you wanted to.”

“Right.” Annoyance no.1 groaned. For once, he was the one being annoyed. “My parents would kill me if I do anything that could get me into serious trouble while I'm here.” he mumbled, ruffling his hair.

Daehyun almost laughed out loud. “Seriously? Your parents?”

“What?” The other looked at him irritated. “Aren't human parents like that too?”

“Most of them, yes. I just wouldn't have figured that yours were like that. You don't really seem like someone who cares a lot about what your parents say.”

“Everyone would, if their inheritance, which isn't exactly little was on the line.”

“If you're not going to take me somewhere out of their reach or endure their anger, you'll have to leave me alone.” Daehyun smiled smugly. He mouthed an “I won” in the other's direction before he left, not without waving at the girls one more time. Extremely satisfied, he noted that no.1 didn't follow him. Who would have thought it would be this easy to get rid of him. Apparently, parents where the same all over the world, or rather in every intelligent species. Now, only no.3 was left. Speaking of which, since now neither no.1 or no.2 were near Daehyun, this would be the perfect timing for him to make a move. He was kind of like a cliché goth. Dressed in black from head to toe, excessive use of dark make-up and seemed to avoid sunlight as much as possible.

Indeed, when Daehyun passed by a dark alley, he heard someone calling his name. Mildly curious as to why the other didn't just drag him into the alley to make advances to him where no one could see like he usually did but actually gave him a chance to decide whether to come or not, Daehyun decided to give the other a listen.

“What is it?”

Annoyance no.3 seemed oddly nervous. He stood slightly crouched and continuously chewed on his fingernails. “Um...” he hesitated. “I might or might not have told someone about you.”

Daehyun frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, some friends were asking about my stay in the human world and I kind of told them that there was someone delicious and...”

“And what?” Daehyun was growing impatient. He wasn't sure whether he liked where this was going.

“We were in a pub, so probably a lot of others overheard what I was saying. What I'm trying to say is...”

Daehyun slumped back against the wall, dreading what no.3 was going to say.

“There might be a few others that are after you now.”

“Well shit.”

 


	20. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is awfully short but I'm quite busy and I thought a short chapter would be better than having to wait three weeks again for a longer one ^^'

“Isn't it illegal or something to go after humans?” Now Daehyun was the one to nervously chew on his nails. “How many people were there that could… you know...”

“I don't know, maybe four? But this kind of news spread very fast.” Annoyance no.3 shrugged. “There are no laws regarding the treatment of humans. Actually, humans aren't more than a source of food and enjoyment for us. We, the two others and me, simply could have kidnapped you and kept you as our pet or toy, no one would have cared. Well, maybe the human police, your friends and family but you know what I mean. You're lucky we're more on the humans-aren't-worth-less-than-us track. It's kind of like being in a vegan movement.”

“Great.” Daehyun sighed. “And whoever else is going to come probably won't be that nice, is that what you're trying to say?” He tried to appear unimpressed when he was actually shaking. It would be a lie to say he wasn't scared. From what the other had said, it sounded like second and third Sung Joons were going to come get him. Why did he always end up in situations like this? He must have done something terrible in his previous life.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Me?” Daehyun let out a hysterical laugh. “I couldn't even fight off the ones that somehow tried to treat me like someone equal,”

“What do you mean _tried_?” no.3 mumbled and frowned. Well, they had done their best, they just didn't have a clue how to treat someone properly.

“how am I supposed to fight off someone who sees me as a _toy_?” Daehyun choked on the last word. His eyes began to fill with tears.

“I wish I could do something to help you but I'm not the strongest myself, so… As much as I feel sorry for you, I won't risk getting beaten up or killed to protect you.” No.3 shrugged again. “Ask that guy that brought you to university a few times, he's one of us too, isn't he? I didn't really see him, so...”

“Yes he is.” Daehyun let himself drop to the floor and pulled his knees up to his chest. “But what can he even do? He's not really a fighter.” Youngjae had been lucky enough to win over Sung Joon.

Annoyance no.3 flopped down next to him, mimicking his pose. “I guess you're fucked then. Maybe even literally.” He did look somewhat sorry.

“Thanks, you're a great help.” Instead of rolling his eyes like he usually would, Daehyun buried his face in his arms. “You've done a great job at helping to ruin my life even further.” His words were shaky but at least he managed not to cry.

They had sat a few minutes in silence when no.3 suddenly spoke up. “Maybe if… No, I don't think that's a good idea, forget it.” He went silent again but he had already caught Daehyun's attention.

“What?” He turned around to grab the other by his shoulders, momentarily forgetting that he was scared and that the other could do whatever to him within the blink of an eye if he annoyed him. “If there is a way to keep these guys away from me, you must tell me! Don't you owe me at least that?”

“I seriously don't think that's a good idea.” Annoyance no.3 shrugged his hands off and stood up abruptly. “Just forget it already.”

“Tell me and I'll decide whether it's a good idea or not.” Daehyun stood up as well and grabbed no.3's arm.

“It's...” The other hesitated but then sighed. “It's not illegal to go after humans but you can't touch others' property.”  
“What does that mean? How can you tell that someone is… not available?” Daehyun refused to say “owned”.

“We mark them.” No.3 cleared his throat. “I don't think it's a particularly good idea but you could let that guy, your friend mark you.”

“If I'm marked no one will be allowed to do anything to me, right? Even when I'm alone?”

“Exactly.” The other nodded. “But it's not something to be taken lightly, you two should thoroughly discuss this.”

Daehyun wasn't even really listening to him anymore. He remembered how both Sung Joon and annoyance no.2 had mentioned a mark. Especially no.2's warning rang in his head.

“ _The second he marks you, you will have no say in your own life anymore.”_

It was Youngjae he was thinking about though. What evil could Youngjae do to him? Even if he was officially his, somehow, Youngjae wasn't the person to abuse his power. He could have already done that, if he wanted to. Still, while he didn't mistrust Youngjae, he did struggle with the thought of being “property” to someone. If it was the only thing that would help in this situation though… If it was Youngjae, he would be fine.

“So, how does this marking thing work?” he curiously asked the other.

“Um, well, it's quite simple actually.” It was hard to tell exactly since the sun had already set and it started to become darker but it seemed like no.3 was blushing. “You just...” He suddenly paused and stood up abruptly. “Someone's coming.”

“What do you mean?” Daehyun stood up as well and looked around anxiously. “Where? Who?”

“I don't know but someone I definitely don't want to challenge.”

“One of those who were in the pub?”

No.3 shook his head. “No, they were much stronger physically but whoever is coming still shouldn't be messed with. I'll get going now and you should do the same.” He attempted to leave but Daehyun grabbed his arm and clung to it.

“You can't just leave me alone now after getting me into this mess!”

“What the fuck, let go of me.” No.3 shook his arm to get rid of Daehyun but Daehyun wouldn't budge. “Listen, I'm sorry for whatever will happen to you but I can't help you anyway. One victim is better than two.”

“Coward!” Daehyun tightened his grip even more.

“So what if I am a coward?” Angrily, no.3 slammed Daehyun against the nearest wall and grabbed his shoulders, slightly shaking him. “You have no idea about how things work for us. Have you not noticed by now that we are much stronger? Fights don't end with just a few bruises but with many broken bones. We heal faster than humans but it still fucking hurts.”

“So you're going to save yourself by sacrificing me?” Daehyun spat with as much anger as he possibly could when he was this terrified.

“You would do the same if you were me.” No.3 ran his fingers through Daehyun's hair, as if to console him. “We're both cowards after all.”

“Get away from him.” someone growled from behind them, making the other flinch away from Daehyun immediately.

“You're-” No.3's eyes widened when he saw who had spoken. “I'm terribly sorry, if I had known you wanted him, I'd never-”

“Shut up and leave.” the other interrupted him. “And don't ever come anywhere near him again.”

“Yeah, sure.” With that, no.3 had disappeared within the blink of an eye.

“Are you okay?” Daehyun was pulled into a hug, a hand rubbed over his back in soothing circles. “It must have been scary.”

“I thought someone dangerous was going to come.” Daehyun mumbled and buried his face in Youngjae's broad chest, slightly shaking.

“Don't worry.” Youngjae put a finger under Daehyun's chin and gently lifted his head to press a kiss to his forehead. “As long as I'm with you, no one will dare to lay a single finger on you. I promise.”


	21. Chapter 20

On their way home, they hadn't spoken at all. Instead, Youngjae had held Daehyun's hand the whole time, not minding some rude starers or that the other was blushing madly. Somehow, Daehyun was grateful for that. He needed some physical assurance that there was someone protecting him by his side but at the same time, it embarrassed him that he _needed_ physical contact. He had noticed before that he had become very touchy-feely when it came to Youngjae lately, simply because he liked being close to and touching him. It wasn't something he was used to. He had always disliked being touched by others, probably because his foster parents had only touched him to slap him if he had done something wrong. It was a nice change though.

“So,” Youngjae closed the door behind them after they had entered their apartment, “who was that guy? And why was he with you?”

“I don't really know him.” Daehyun shrugged and avoided Youngjae's gaze. There really would be now way around telling the other now. Well, maybe it was for the best, given that he wouldn't have to deal with only those who wouldn't actually hurt him anymore. “He just...” Daehyun sighed, mustering all his courage to tell Youngjae the truth, who would definitely be mad at him for not telling him from the beginning. “He wanted to drink my blood but...”

“He what?” Youngjae abruptly stopped getting out of his shoes and turned to meet Daehyun's eyes.

“They didn't do anything, they just tried to convince me to let them but you know I'd never agree to something like this.”

“They?”

Daehyun shrank under the other's piercing gaze. “They were just three other students, it wasn't really that much of a big deal. They kinda followed me around and stuff like that but they didn't do anything serious.”

“And you didn't think you should tell me things like this?” Youngjae had pressed his lips into a thin line.

“I handled them quite well though.” Daehyun defended himself. “I made two of them leave me alone and the one just now was going to leave me alone too.” He stood with his hands on his hips, pouting. “There's things I can do on my own, you know.”

Youngjae raised his brows. “Then what were you so afraid of earlier?”

“Ah, well...” Daehyun let his arms drop to his side again. “Apparently some guys overheard a conversation that person had with his friends, so they might be after me now.”

Frowning, Youngjae finally proceeded to slip out of his shoes and put them away. He mumbled something like “This guy is so dead.” to himself and went into the kitchen, a somewhat dumbfounded Daehyun following him.

“So, um...” Daehyun nervously fumbled with the hem of his shirt. It was even scarier that Youngjae hadn't gotten as angry as he had thought. “What will we do now?”

“Wedon't do anything.” Youngjae was getting dinner ready with his back turned to Daehyun. “Just stay by my side, then no one will dare to do anything to you.”

Indeed, Youngjae's presence had been enough to make sure annoyance no.3 would stay away but… “What about Sung Joon?” Daehyun asked hesitantly. “He didn't seem very afraid of you.”

“Sung Joon was an exception. We grew up together after all.” Youngjae shrugged, still not turning around to face him. “The others will respect me.”

“If you say so.” Daehyun sat on one of the kitchen chairs and stared at his hands that laid folded in his lap. Youngjae had said people of his kind would respect _him_ , which ultimately translated to: “They don't respect _you_.”, which then ultimately meant that he was only safe when Youngjae was with him. However, it was impossible for Youngjae to always be with him. They both had to go to university and their schedules weren't similar enough to walk home together every day. The only possibility would be if one or both of them gave up on their education, which was a big no, in capital letters.

“Eat.” Youngjae placed a bowl of rice on the table in front of Daehyun, together with a few dishes and turned again before Daehyun was able to make eye contact with him.

“What's wrong?” Daehyun asked worriedly. The other had to be mad.

“Nothing, it's just...” Youngjae finally turned around, letting out a frustrated sigh and ruffling his hair. “Why didn't you tell me?” He didn't seem angry but disappointed.

“Um,” Daehyun was startled by the other's facial expression. He had expected anger but not this. “I wanted to try handling this alone first before telling you. I didn't want to bother you.”

“Bother me?” Youngjae frowned. “How is protecting you a bother?”

“Uh...” Daehyun scratched the back of his head. Now that he actually had to explain his thoughts, it didn't make as much sense as before. After all, Youngjae had never complained once about taking care of Daehyun. In fact, he had always done so without being asked to, so why would he mind it? Still… “No one likes babysitting.”

“You're such an idiot, Daehyun.”

“What? No, I'm not!” Daehyun puffed his cheeks in a sulking manner. He hissed when the other flicked his forehead with his fingers.

“Yes you are. If I hadn't wanted to protect you, I wouldn't have, it's simple as that.” Youngjae sighed and remained silent for a few moments. When he spoke again, his voice was full of suppressed desperation. “I don't want _that_ to happen again and I suppose neither do you. So please, let me help you. Don't keep these kind of things from me.”

“Sorry.” Daehyun's head hung low. It hurt, knowing that he had disappointed the other. “Of course I don't want _that_ to happen again and I'm grateful for everything you've ever done for me.”

“Promise that you trust me.” Youngjae demanded.

“I promise. I never didn't trust you anyway.”

Satisfied, Youngjae nodded, then he switched to a happier face and sat down as well after grabbing his bowl of rice from the counter. “Let's eat now, you're probably starving.”

As if having understood Youngjae's word, Daehyun's stomach grumbled. “I guess I am.” His cheeks burned at the other's laughter. “Stop laughing.” Embarrassed, he started to stuff his mouth with food.

After they had finished their meal, they sat at their usual spot on the sofa. Today, Youngjae held Daehyun especially tight, as if scared that someone would take him away.

“So, what are we going to do tomorrow?”

“What do you mean?” Youngjae absent-mindedly stroked Daehyun's hair.

“University.” Daehyun looked up at the other. “You still have to prepare for your exam and I can't miss my classes.”

“Right. Well…” Youngjae frowned as he was trying to come up with a solution. “I can walk you there and pick you up but I guess it'd be weird if I accompany you to class.”

“The professors don't allow anyone else besides the students to be inside the classroom anyway.” Daehyun sighed a little. “But that means total strangers won't be able to come at me during class as well.”

“That only leaves the breaks.”

“I don't think they'd be able to enter the campus at all. Or at least, they can't do anything while I'm at the campus.”

“Are you sure?” Youngjae obviously was not convinced that he would be safe.

“Of course I can't know for sure but there's no other way. You can't be with me all the time and they aren't obliged to stay away when you're not there, right?” Daehyun asked, testing whether Youngjae would mention the marking method himself. After all, that would be the only thing that would guarantee him 100% safety.

“No, they're not. Some might stay away knowing that I'll kill them if they do anything to you but most of them will probably be smart enough to know to avoid me. I can't kill them when I don't know who or where they are.” Youngjae chewed on the nail of his ring finger. “I guess the only possibility would be to stay at home 24/7 but you can't just stop going to university. I technically don't need my degree but you...”

“Isn't there something else though?” Daehyun sat up to be face to face with the other.

“What do you mean?” Youngjae frowned at him.

“You know, that marking thing...”

“Who told you about that?”

“That guy from earlier.” Daehyun raised his eyebrows when he noticed that Youngjae was slightly blushing.

“Forget it, that's not an option.” Youngjae said with determination.

“Why not? It'd protect me even when you're not there.”

“I won't do it.” Youngjae shook his head and gently pushed Daehyun off him to stand up and make his way to their bedroom. “We'll somehow deal with that.”

 

Everything went fell for the first days.

Some guys once approached them when they were on their way home from university, Youngjae had decided to skip classes whenever it was necessary to pick Daehyun up, but they quickly disappeared after seeing Youngjae. Others didn't even dare to approach them, according to Youngjae at least. They stayed far away enough so that Youngjae wasn't able to get to know even the slightest detail about them, except for that they were there. Sadly, that meant that Youngjae couldn't threaten them or do whatever would keep them away from Daehyun.

Coincidentally, his university employed some new staffs at that time and Daehyun was completely sure that some of them belonged to the guys that were after him. At least there was no other reason why they would grope and touch him in anywhere but appropriate places, subtly enough so that no one else would notice. Some even tried to kidnap him but he was able to flee to more crowded places where they couldn't do anything.

Youngjae couldn't enter Daehyun's university as the professors made sure no strangers walked around on the campus. He could only protect Daehyun after university and console him whenever something had happened during the day.

Daehyun had mentioned marking again, Youngjae had suggested that maybe taking a break from university wouldn't ruin his grades too much. Both suggestions were strongly disagreed on by the other respectively.

That was why Daehyun could do nothing but bear with the situation. He could tell that Youngjae felt terribly guilty about what was happening, especially since he had promised to protect Daehyun, so he tried to show his fear as little as possible. All of this was mostly his fault anyway. If he had told Youngjae from the start, maybe everything would have been differently. Youngjae shouldn't have to suffer as much because of his faults as he did, at least that was what he had told himself in the beginning.

However, constantly having to fear assault whenever Youngjae wasn't with him was starting to wear him out. The more days passed, the harder it got to bear and the harder it got to understand why Youngjae refused to talk about marking with him. He wouldn't even tell Daehyun how it worked, so how would he be able to understand the other's reasons.

The fear and the frustration that came with not understanding Youngjae made Daehyun reach the limit of what he could bear very soon.

 

He had spent about one and a half hour thinking of how he would finally convince Youngjae. He couldn't bear it anymore. What was enough was enough. There was a way to end all this. Either Youngjae would finally agree to marking him or he would give him a valid reason why it was not possible.

Determined, he stood up from his bed. Youngjae was reading in the living room. It was now or never.

He took a deep breath before he pushed the door open and burst into the living room, startling Youngjae.

“Mark me!”


	22. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part of this chapter was basically the first thing I wrote for this story, so if anything doesn't match with whatever I've written since then, please do kindly ignore ^^'

“Mark me!”

“Huh?” Youngjae looked up from the book he was reading.

“I told you to mark me.” Daehyun sat down on the couch next to him. “They won't dare to touch me when I'm wearing your mark, right?”

“No, they won't but –“

“Do it then!” Daehyun grabbed Youngjae's arm. “I can't take this any longer. Today at the cafeteria someone randomly licked my cheek and grabbed my butt, on my way to class someone followed me and tried to drag me into the storeroom. I can't walk around alone any more and it drives me crazy. Please, Youngjae. If you can do anything to stop this...” He looked at Youngjae with pleading eyes. “do it.”

Youngjae looked away. “I can't.”

“Why not? Does it require something like an altar and a human sacrifice or a complicated spell that you have to practice first because it will kill me when done wrong?”

“No, it's nothing of that sort.” Youngjae bit his lip, still looking away from Daehyun.

“Then why? Please, just do me this favour.”

“You wouldn't want this.”

“I'm telling you right that I want you to do this.” Daehyun tilted his head to meet Youngjae's gaze. “Or are you a criminal and your mark will put me in even more danger because the Mafia wants to take vengeance on you?” He laughed softly. “I don't understand what you're worrying about.”

“That's right. You don't understand.” Youngjae pressed his lips into a thin line. “Just trust me to know what you'd want and what not.”

Daehyun frowned. “How do you mark someone then?”

Youngjae hesitated for a few moments. “You cum inside them.” he finally said, blushing a little.

Daehyun's mouth fell open but he quickly composed himself. “Well, I guess after how intimate we already got, I could...” he cleared his throat. “I could deal with it, I mean since it doesn't take that long, right?” To be honest, sleeping with a man was the least thing he wanted to do, especially if he was going to bottom. The memories of Sung Joon torturing him in the warehouse were still haunting him in his dreams. Of course Youngjae would never hurt him, he knew that. Nevertheless he was scared. But if that was what it took for those people to leave him alone, he would bear with it. He just had to. Before another person like Sung Joon would take interest into him. Youngjae didn't look too convinced so he patted his back. “I'll be fine. And you don't really have a problem with this, right? After all you live of such things.”

Youngjae shook his head and sighed. “You'd get pregnant.” he said softly.

Daehyun's eyes widened. “That's not possible. I'm a man.”

“Things work differently for us.” Youngjae chuckled. “You should have noticed that already.” He finally looked directly at Daehyun. “The sole purpose of marking someone is to make sure no one touches your significant other when they are carrying your child because they only truly belong to you from that moment. Before that it wouldn't make much sense to call someone yours. Isn't it similar for humans as well?”

“Sometimes it's like this but mostly people marry before they're getting a child.”

“Well, marriage and a mark might have the same idea behind them but marriage isn't something that would naturally happen.” Youngjae shrugged. “And yes, people of the same sex can have children. At least with humans of the same sex.”

“But anatomically –”

Youngjae sighed. “I'm not too knowledgeable in this kind of things but I do know that something in the semen triggers anatomical changes inside the male human body. I'd have to research on that.” He sighed again. “You are right, I wouldn't really have a problem sleeping with you, not even with impregnating you honestly. I really like you and I'd trust you with my children. But I doubt you would want to throw your life away just like that. You're still going to university to become a musician and with a baby belly, you couldn't even go out.”

“I can't go out even now without being harassed.” Daehyun said sarcastically. He still blushed at the thought that Youngjae liked him. “But I get your point. I don't really want to become pregnant, not now and not in ten years.” He paused to think for a moment. “You mark someone by cumming inside them, not by impregnating them, right?”

Youngjae nodded. “But the chance of getting pregnant when it's your first time is basically 100% because that's when the changes in your body are triggered and usually you'd get pregnant immediately when your body changes.”

“Is that so?” This pregnancy thing wasn't really something Daehyun was used to thinking about, so he found it really hard to believe that he could get pregnant at first try. Didn't most humans have to try several times? Although there were always the unlucky who had thought they wouldn't get pregnant immediately and then spent the rest of their young life looking after a child they couldn't afford financially. “But the mark doesn't disappear when the pregnancy ends?”

“No, it stays, there's only been a few cases where the mark faded, usually because something traumatic happened between the couple.” Youngjae frowned. He could guess what Daehyun was hinting at. “I will never let you kill my child! Forget it.”

“It will be a few cells, not a child.” Daehyun looked at Youngjae pleadingly. “There is this pill that girls take right after the sex to avoid getting pregnant, wouldn't that work?”

“I don't think it works with our kind. Besides, these few cells are a child to be, so you'd still be killing a living being!”

“It doesn't feel yet!” How could Youngjae be so stubborn? Why bother with ethical questions when it wasn't really his problem? He just needed to mark him, Daehyun would take care of the rest.

“You haven't thought about this long enough. You have no idea what it means to be responsible for another live.”

That made Daehyun angry. So angry that he sprung up from the couch and started to yell at Youngjae. “No, it is you who has no idea. You have always been at the top of the food chain while I am the prey. I can do nothing but endure being hunted, harassed and even raped! All I want you to do is to make sure that I'll be safe. You promised you would! I let you suck on me as if I am a fucking lollipop, you could at least once do that for me! Or should I find being your food pleasurable enough not to be asking for something in return?” With one look in Youngjae's face, he knew that he went to far. He didn't even mean the last thing he said, it just slipped out before he was able to think about his words. Damn his brain that stopped working whenever it came across strong emotions. “Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean –”

“Fine.” Youngjae stood up, obviously hurt by Daehyun's words. “If that's what you want in return, I'll do it. I can't guarantee that you will find it _pleasurable_ though. ” He practically spat the last sentence out.

Daehyun felt terrible. He hadn't meant to hurt Youngjae. He knew very well how insecure Youngjae had been when he had started to feed of Daehyun. How he had held back his hunger for years because he didn't like to live like that. How he had always made sure that Daehyun liked what he was doing and how he had always been ready stop if Daehyun would ask for it.

“Follow me.” Youngjae ordered as he walked towards their bedroom.

Daehyun shuddered at the other's cold voice. He followed hesitantly. While he was still convinced that this would be the best option, mainly because it was the only one but he was both sorry for what he had said and scared. What was going to happen would be scary enough when Youngjae wouldn't have that cold facial expression.

“Undress, then lie down.” Youngjae again used his cold, mandatory voice.

“Youngjae...”

“Shut up.” He avoided Daehyun's pleading eyes. “This is what you wanted after all, isn't it?”

“Yes but not like this.” Daehyun took a few steps forward to stand behind Youngjae and wrap his arms around the other's waist. “You know that I didn't mean what I said. I mean, you can tell that I don't dislike being ki-” He felt his cheeks burning. “being your food.”

Youngjae only hummed and relaxed his body.

“I do want you to mark me but… if you're still angry we shouldn't do it right now.”

Youngjae sighed, then freed himself and turned around to face Daehyun, who noted with relief that the coldness had been replaced with something much softer. “I'm not angry. Though you better never say something like this again because I don't know what will happen to us if you do.”

“I won't.” Daehyun smiled brightly at the other, before his relief made place for awkward nervousness. “So, are we going to...”

Youngjae chuckled when Daehyun's face turned into a bright red. “I suppose. I'm still not quite comfortable with the thought of aborting the child but more than anything, I want you to be safe.”

“I'll take care of it alone.” Daehyun wanted to assure the other, who shook his head.

“You have no idea what you're doing, let my doctor handle that.” He patted Daehyun's head. Smirking, he then pointed at Daehyun's chest. “You'll still have to undress though.”

Startled by Youngjae's sudden request, Daehyun blushed even harder, if that was possible.

“Inexperienced?” Youngjae teased before he turned around and began undressing. “We've seen each other naked before anyway, no need to be embarrassed.”

“I guess so.” Daehyun was still blushing madly, yet he started to undress as well. When he was completely naked, he crawled onto the bed, waiting for Youngjae, who was rummaging through his bedside table. When the other finally found what he had been searching for and turned around, Daehyun resisted the urge to cover himself up. “Why do you even have that?” He suspiciously eyed the bottle of lube the other was holding.

“In case I might need it, why else? I'm not a monk after all.” Youngjae shrugged and sat beside Daehyun. “Are you really sure you want this? Because I can't guarantee you that I'll be able to stop midway.”

Daehyun nodded nervously. It was fine, Youngjae wouldn't hurt him. He kept saying that to himself like a mantra, the pain Sung Joon had inflicted on him still very vivid in his head. He let himself be pushed down to lie on the pillows by Youngjae.

“You don't have to do anything besides relaxing.” Youngjae bopped his nose in an attempt to calm him. “Got it?”

Again, Daehyun only nodded, a little less nervous this time. Though he quickly tensed again when the other pushed his legs apart and positioned himself between them. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“You do know how this works, don't you?” Youngjae chuckled and leaned forward to peck Daehyun's cheek. “I know what I'm doing. It's not like I'm doing this for the first time.”

Daehyun puffed his cheeks. “That's not something you should tell someone you're about to sleep with.” While it was comforting to know that Youngjae wasn't so inexperienced that he would accidentally hurt him, he surely didn't want to know with whom Youngjae had slept or with how many.

“Sorry.” Youngjae chuckled once again and grabbed the bottle of lube. “What I meant to say is, trust me.” He quickly coated his fingers with lube. “I'll stretch you a little bit now, so-”

“Don't explain everything, that'll make it even more awkward than it already is.” Daehyun yelled, his face bright red.

“Well, first-time sex is always awkward, no matter how romantic most people imagine it to be.” Youngjae shrugged, yet he spread Daehyun's legs a little bit more and began to circle his entrance with one finger. “I thought it would calm you a little if you knew what I'm going to do but if you don't want to...” He carefully pushed one finger inside, only to pull it out again right away. After waiting a few moments, he pushed inside again, this time a little bit deeper.

Daehyun gasped at the feeling of something inside him. “Feels weird.” he mumbled, propping himself up on his elbows to get a better view of what the other was doing. It was probably a good sign that it only felt weird, since he wasn't hurting.

“You'll get used to it sooner or later.” Youngjae began moving his finger around, his brows furrowed a little as if he was concentrating rather hard on what he was doing.

Daehyun tried to focus on his breathing instead of the moving finger inside him but failed to do so when Youngjae's finger brushed over a particularly sensitive spot, which made him moan softly.

Youngjae smirked at that and continued to lightly push against this spot until Daehyun was a moaning mess. “See, I know what I'm doing.” Still smirking, he added a second finger and began to make scissoring movements, stretching him out until he could fit a third finger inside. “Does it still feel weird?”

Daehyun shook his head and gripped the sheets tightly, holding back a moan. “Feels good.” he managed to say before he had to shut his mouth again to muffle another moan. The only thing that felt weird was how little control he had over his body but it was weird in a good way. Though he was completely vulnerable in this situation,  he could completely trust the other not to hurt him but instead only give him pleasure that was almost too much to bear.  He whined a little when he felt the fingers being pulled out of him.

Youngjae reached over to grab the bottle and lube himself up, very obviously too aroused to wait any longer.

Though Daehyun felt a sense of pride that the other was aroused because of him, his nervousness grew again when he eyed Youngjae's body up and down. “Um...” His eyes  settled on Youngjae's erection. “That's never going to fit.” Youngjae was definitely bigger than three fingers.

Chuckling, Youngjae pressed a kiss on Daehyun's forehead. “It will, trust me.”

In fact, Daehyun remembered very well that Sung Joon had managed to fit something even larger, his whole fist inside him but that had hurt so much that he had almost fainted.

Youngjae must have noticed the worried look on his face and smiled assuringly. “Just relax, it won't hurt.” He gently stroked Daehyun's hard member, which made him close his eyes and moan in pleasure. While Daehyun was distracted by his hand movement, Youngjae began to push himself into Daehyun's hole, who groaned at the feeling of being filled but didn't feel any pain, only incredible pleasure. “Are you okay?” When Daehyun nodded, he leaned down  to press his lips onto Daehyun's, capturing the other's lips in a passionate kiss and started to move, carefully at first, then more and more daring.  Youngjae dug his fingers into Daehyun's waist and snapped his hips mercilessly against the other.

Daehyun moaned loudly as Youngjae managed to hit  his sensitive spot with every thrust. “F- fuck Youngjae!” he nearly screamed when  Youngjae  started to stroke his dick again.  He grabbed Youngjae by his  neck and pulled the other down. Hungrily,  he crushed his lips against Youngjae's mouth.  They moved their lips against each other's in a fight for dominance, which Youngjae quickly won. 

When they broke apart, gasping for air, Youngjae instead moved farther down to cover Daehyun's neck  with butterfly kisse s while Daehyun grabbed the sheets with one hand for support and wrapped his free arm around Youngjae's  neck to pull him even closer.

“Youngjae, I'm-” Daehyun moaned when he felt himself getting closer to his orgasm. His breathing became more ragged and his moans louder when the other began to move in a faster pace.

Youngjae once again kissed Daehyun, then pressed their foreheads together. “Close?”

Daehyun nodded breathlessly. His eyes were only half-lidded as it became harder to focus when this much pleasure was rushing through his body. “Please-” Daehyun half-moaned, half-whimpered. He wasn't sure whether he could take this much longer.

Youngjae was breathing heavily as well as he continued to thrust into Daehyun until Daehyun let out a rather high-pitched “Fuck!” and threw his head back when he came. It didn't take long for Youngjae to reach his orgasm after that either.

Daehyun was still trying to catch his breath when Youngjae pulled out of him and lay down beside him. “It feels gross now.” he finally managed to say after they had lied like that for a few minutes and grimaced. The feeling of semen inside him definitely wasn't very comfortable.

Jokingly, Youngjae clutched his chest and looked at him with a nearly heartbroken expression. “Wow, that really hurt me. You can't tell me I've been a bad partner though, you obviously liked every single thing I did.” He seductively wiggled his eyebrows.

“Shut up.” Blushing, Daehyun rolled his eyes and tried to get up but the other wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him down to lie again.

“Where are you going?”

“Shower.” Daehyun tried to get up again but still was held tightly.

“Let's do that tomorrow, I'm tired.” Youngjae mumbled, obviously somewhat sleepy.

“It'll be even grosser by then.”

“Worry about that tomorrow.” Chuckling, Youngjae pulled the blankets over both of them. “We both should rest, since tomorrow will be a long day.”

Raising his eyebrows, Daehyun turned to face the other. “Will it?”

“Well, I can't just call my doctor to come here, he's a busy man, you know.” Youngjae shrugged and closed his eyes, starting to fall asleep. “We should get it over with as fast as possible.

“Thank you.” Daehyun mumbled and cuddled up against the other. That Youngjae would do something he wasn't really comfortable with just to protect him really meant the world to him.

They both fell asleep soon after that.

 


	23. Chapter 22

“Did you sleep well?”

Daehyun only hummed in response, his eyes still closed as the other ran his hands through his hair.

“We should get going soon.” Youngjae leaned over to press a kiss on Daehyun's forehead, who finally opened his eyes and sleepily returned the other's look. “Sublamaro isn't exactly around the corner.”

“Sublamaro?” Daehyun blinked a few times, still not completely awake.

“That's what our city is called.” Chuckling, Youngjae got up and pulled the blanket that had covered them away. “Get up now, it may be Saturday but we both have classes on Monday so we can't stay away forever.”

“Hey, it's cold!” Daehyun yelled and tried to retrieve the blanket but failed.

“If it's cold, you should quickly take a hot shower and get dressed.”

“I don't want to get up though.” Daehyun grimaced. “It feels so gross every time I move. I really should have showered yesterday.”

“Stop whining. Are you a baby or what?” Youngjae laughed softly when Daehyun stuck out his tongue at him.

“You were the one who told me not to shower yesterday.” Daehyun crossed his arms in front of his chest. “This is all your fault.”

“You asked for it though.” Youngjae sighed dramatically and grabbed Daehyun's wrist to drag him into the bathroom. “We don't have all day so get moving.” When Daehyun yelped in surprise, he turned around worriedly. “Are you hurting?”

“A little bit sore but it's not too bad.” Daehyun shrugged and followed the other to the bathroom obediently. “So how do we get to this Sublasomething?”

“We'll fly there.” Youngjae gently pushed Daehyun into the shower while he started to brush his teeth, waiting for his turn to shower.

“By plane?” Daehyun hissed when cold water hit his bare skin and quickly turned up the heat.

“Obviously, or do I look like I can grow wings whenever it's convenient?” Youngjae asked sarcastically.

“Have you booked the tickets already though?” Daehyun had never been on a plane before but from what he knew, it wasn't always possible to buy tickets last-minute. “Shit!” he suddenly exclaimed. “What time is it right now? By what time do we need to be at the airport?”

“Relax, we don't use a regular airline anyway. We can't risk humans finding out where we live.” Chuckling, Youngjae motioned for Daehyun to quickly finish showering so that he could get cleaned up too. “I've called an acquaintance while you were still asleep. We'll use his private plane.”

“You know someone who owns a private plane?” Daehyun was indeed impressed.

“Most of our kind who decide to live in the human world do so because they own a shit-ton of money and there are more opportunities to spend it here.” Youngjae shrugged.

“Right, you decided to live here too and your family definitely isn't poor if you own a hospital.” When Daehyun got out of the shower, he quickly wrapped himself in a towel. Suspiciously, he eyed the other. “Is that even true though? Or was that a lie to hide the fact that you're not human?” He remembered Sung Joon having said something about his family wanting to overtake the power. That didn't sound like it was just about a hospital in his opinion.

“You're right, it was a lie.” Youngjae laughed at Daehyun's dumbfounded face. “Didn't expect an answer this straightforward, right?” Still laughing softly, he leaned forward to peck the other's cheek. “I've decided to be completely honest with you from now on. You already know my biggest secret anyway.” With that, the stepped into the shower, leaving Daehyun with a tickling feeling in his stomach area.

Daehyun couldn't help but notice that Youngjae looked really hot when he was showering. How he managed not to look as if he was almost drowning like Daehyun usually did but instead as if he was filming a shower scene in a film was a mystery. He felt his face heat up. Since when did he think about the other in that way? He hadn't even thought about how sexy or anything Youngjae looked when they had slept together, why now all of a sudden?

Youngjae finished his shower in record time. “I see you're not cold anymore.” He chuckled at how Daehyun blushed even more when he stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel.

“Shut up.” Daehyun mumbled and walked towards the bathroom door but was pulled into the other's hug.

“You don't need to be embarrassed, it's the hormones.”

“Hormones?” Daehyun frowned confusedly.

“You're pregnant, remember?” Youngjae brushed his lips over the back of Daehyun's neck before he let go. “Let's quickly get dressed. We can grab something to eat on our way.”

 

Youngjae's acquaintance lived quite far outside of the city in a huge mansion. Huge enough to have enough space for a runway, though not as big as an airport but the plane was also much smaller, it wasn't made to transport more than maybe ten people.

The old man hadn't really paid much attention to Daehyun but he had been surprisingly respectful with Youngjae. Apparently, his kind didn't have a seniority system like they did in South Korea, otherwise it would be unthinkable for Youngjae to talk down to an elder.

Daehyun stayed a little behind Youngjae all the time as he felt that was what the old man was expecting him to do; he didn't seem to regard humans as equal and Daehyun didn't want Youngjae to get into trouble in case he misbehaved, as the other might be considered responsible for his _property's_ actions. He still very much disliked that word but it was comforting that Youngjae didn't think of him as that.

“Thank you once again for your help.” Youngjae politely smiled at the man before getting on the plane, Daehyun following closely. “The flight takes about one hour.” Youngjae informed him after they had sat down and fastened their seatbelts.

“Your city is that close to South Korea?” Daehyun would have expected it to be quite far away, especially with how much Youngjae had stressed him this morning to finally get going. “How do you make sure no one accidentally finds the city?”

“It's somewhere humans don't usually go.” Youngjae said and grinned a little at the confused look Daehyun gave him. “You'll see.”

“But can humans enter the city? You need that book to be allowed to go inside, right?

Youngjae nodded. “You're marked so I can simply take you with me.  You might even be able to enter without me but Sublamaro isn't really a nice place to live in as a human and even less if you're without you're partner.”

With how humans were regarded as inferior by many, Daehyun could definitely imagine that. They probably would be at most second-class citizens, mayb e something  even lower than that.

They spent the rest of the flight silent, Daehyun admiring the view out of the window and Youngjae smiling fondly at his childlike excitement.

 

“That's never going to fit!” Daehyun almost didn't dare to look outside. “We're going to crash against that wall and die!”

Youngjae chuckled and pulled Daehyun's hands away from his eyes. “The opening is just big enough for planes, see?” He pointed outside of the window. “We're through.”

“Oh thank god.” Breathing heavily, Daehyun collapsed into his seat. “That really scared me.”

“I could tell.” Youngjae patted his shoulder. “Maybe I should have warned you.”

“You should have.” Daehyun grumbled but was quick to turn around to watch his surroundings. “So we are inside of that mountain?”

Indeed, the plane had headed for a small island that  couldn't even be found on any maps.  It only consisted of a small beach and the mountain they had just entered through the opening that seemed way to small for a plane from afar. The plane had landed on a platform that was human-made. Well, probably not human.  It was moveable to help the plan start as they didn't have enough space for a runway.

“Are you coming?” Youngjae had already walked towards the exit while Daehyun still been looking through the window. “The cave isn't really that spectacular anyway.”

I t was spectacular for Daehyun but maybe that meant that the city itself was even more amazing. “Coming.” After exiting the plane, Youngjae immediately walked towards a small tunnel that Daehyun probably wouldn't have noticed on his own since it was very  dark, only the platform was lighted. “Do you live without sunlight?” Daehyun had to grab the other's hand to not lose him as he couldn't even see his own hands anymore. The other had definitely been right about humans  usually not going  into the cave. Why would they when they can't see anything anyway?

“Yes, actually sunlight is a little bit uncomfortable, it's much too garish.” Youngjae admitted. “We have other sources of light though.”

“ But aren't we underground?” Daehyun had noticed that they seemed to be going downwards. 

“Yes but in terms of  technology we're a lot more advanced than humans. We have a very advanced ventilation system and there are basically tons of tiny light bulbs that make the crystals glow, it looks like a night sky.”

“Crystals?” Daehyun curiously raised his eyebrows, though Youngjae probably couldn't see that anyway.

“Just wait and see.” Youngjae chuckled. “We're almost there.” He suddenly stopped walking, making Daehyun run into his back. When he said something in a language Daehyun didn't understand, suddenly an unfamiliar voice answered  in the same language.

Daehyun could tell by the noises that someone thumbed through a book. Then the other person spoke once again and Youngjae pulled Daehyun farther without saying anything. That probably had been the passport control, though he wondered whether Youngjae and the other were actually able to see in this darkness. Not that he would be surprised by that, after all Youngjae had been guiding him through this tunnel the whole time. They continued to walk in silence for a few minutes until he heard the other opening a heavy wooden door. He squinted his eyes at the sudden  lightness. After his eyes had gotten used to the light, he took a good look at the surroundings.

At each side of the street, there was a small creek, sometimes leading into a pond or a larger creek. The houses were built on seemingly artificial islands, connected to the street via tiny bridges and made out of white stone, decorated with shells, paint, marbles and much more, each surrounded by flower beds, gardens and trees. As the light wasn't as bright as sunlight, everything looked much more mysterious. Speaking of which, when he looked up, he couldn't help but stare in awe. It looked like a night sky but with a lot more and a lot bigger stars. That must be the crystals Youngjae had mentioned. The street lamps seemed to be made from the same material as well. “It's beautiful.” He kept looking around, trying to take notice of every detail while following Youngjae. 

“I'll show you around later.” Youngjae smiled somewhat proudly. “The other's are probably at the theatre since it's Saturday so the streets will be quite empty for a few more hours.”

Daehyun only hummed in response, still too busy watching everything around him. “Are we under the sea?” he suddenly asked when he could hear water in the distance. Though they might just be from a creek.

“Yes, that's why it's almost impossible for humans to find our city. Sublamaro means under the sea by the way.”

They walked towards a building that was larger than the others. While the architecture for regular houses was quite exotic, this building seemed quite familiar in its structure. “That's the hospital?” 

Youngjae nodded. “I've already informed my doctor this morning, he should be waiting for us already.”

The inside looked quite similar to human hospitals as well, surprisingly. The only difference was that everything seemed to be made of that white stone.

“Sir!” They turned around, facing a middle-aged, rather short man who had to be a doctor judging by his clothes.

“Sir?” Daehyun whispered in Youngjae's direction  with a small grin , who only rolled his eyes before he  addressed the other man.

“Doctor, how have you been?”

“As always,” the doctor half-said, half-laughed. “as always.” He then extended his hand to shake Daehyun's, who was somewhat surprised at the gesture but thankfully accepted it. “You must be Daehyun.” The doctor smiled warmly at him. “I'd suggest that we get down to business as fast as possible, you must want to rest as soon as possible after your trip.”

While Daehyun didn't feel like resting, he sure wanted to get it over with. “Yes, thank you.” He followed the doctor towards a room but hesitated at the door when he noticed that Youngjae didn't follow him.

“I have a few things to take care of.” Youngjae smiled apologetically at him. “Is it okay if I just pick you up after your done with… that?”

“Sure.” Daehyun smiled assuringly. Youngjae wasn't comfortable with what was about to happen, so he wouldn't force him to watch. Besides, the doctor seemed like a really nice person. “See you later.” He waved Youngjae goodbye and closed the door behind him.

The doctor instructed him to lie down and pull his shirt up.

They had this instrument similar to what he had seen in human hospitals to check on the baby, not that they would be able to see his, as it was only the first and last day of his pregnancy. There were also a bunch of devices he had never seen before, some looking rather nasty but he didn't want to think about those.

“How are you feeling?” The doctor smiled down at him.

Daehyun shrugged. “Same as always.”

Nodding slowly, the doctor grabbed a small metal detector-like thing. “I'll check now whether you really are pregnant, although I believe Youngjae has already told you that the chance of being impregnated is basically 100% when it's the first time.” He pressed the tool gently on Daehyun's abdomen.

“How does this thing work?” Curiously, Daehyun watched as the thing started to glow a little.

“It would take a while to explain that.” the doctor chuckled and pressed a few buttons. He waited a few seconds until the device began to glow in a reddish colour. “That's a yes. Congratulations, your a father.”

Daehyun frowned a little. “Well, I'm not having the child, I'm sure Youngjae informed you about this? It would be great if we could just get it over with.”

The doctor's gaze hardened. “I'm very sorry but I've been ordered to make sure you really are pregnant and if this were to be the case it is my duty to guarantee the child's health.”

“What?” Daehyun jumped up. “That wasn't the deal. Youngjae and I discussed this and he agreed to– “

The doctor shook his head.

“He did not…?” Daehyun didn't know what so say. He had trusted Youngjae with this. How could the other be so cruel and force him to keep a child he didn't want? Weren't they friends, or maybe even more than that? Youngjae's words rang in his head. “ _I_ _will never_ _let you kill my child!_ ” He really meant it. Daehyun let out a bitter laugh. So much for him having the right to decide over his own body. Of course, Youngjae would never consider him a complete equal. He was only human after all. 

With a quick nod, the doctor ordered the two men that had been waiting in the back of the room to grab his arms and lead him to wherever they were planning on locking him up because he was definitely not going to stay in this place voluntarily.

“Let go of me!” Daehyun struggled as much as he could but the men were far too strong. They just kept dragging him through the building, outside across a bridge towards a small house on an artificial small island.

Under other circumstances, he would have found the house very pretty. It was surrounded by a garden that was well taken care of. The walls were decorated with light blue twirls and shells. There were no windows. Despite the pretty look, it was obviously meant for prisoners. “Stop!” Daehyun fought harder the closer they came to the house. He knew that once he was inside, he wouldn't be able to get out on his own.

“Daehyun...”

He looked back, seeing Youngjae standing at the other side of the bridge. He was wearing some kind of local attire. Needless to say it looked amazing on him. It reminded Daehyun once more of his inferiority. Youngjae definitely was something out of his world.

“Youngjae, please, tell them that this is a misunderstanding, we talked about it, they can't do this!” he begged but Youngjae didn't move. He just watched as Daehyun was shoved into the house. “Help me!” He was answered with an emotionless expression. Desperately, he tried to get a grip on the door frame but it was no use. “Why?” he only managed to whisper. It felt like the air was pressed out of his lungs and his chest tightened.

He felt a sense of betrayal and unbearable pain sweep over him as he heard the door close behind him.


	24. Chapter 23

Youngjae couldn't move. It was as if his brain was too busy trying to understand what had just happened to do anything else. He had left Daehyun with his doctor, even though he hated the thought of his child being aborted but that was what he had promised Daehyun. But why did these men lock him inside the house that was reserved for high-ranking prisoners like politicians? This didn't make sense. “Who ordered this?” he asked in his most demanding voice when the two men came his way.

“The queen, Sir.” one of them answered. They bowed and continued walking away.

“The queen, huh?” Youngjae mumbled to himself. Actually, he had told the old man not to inform anyone about his arrival at Sublamaro but of course, he would be loyal to the queen no matter what, he should have known. It surprised him though that the queen had taken action so quick. He had been prepared for her to try to stop him from leaving but what did she want with Daehyun? She usually had no interest in humans as she didn't regard them as equal but as food, playthings or whatever they were mostly used as. The queen couldn't be bothered by things like that. Of course he would never leave without Daehyun so locking him up was actually quite a good move to force him to stay but it was unlikely she had thought of that as well. While usually both partners depended equally on each other, it rarely happened that one partner was much less dependant as the other, which had been the case for her, so she naturally assumed partners were able to let down and leave each other without being affected at all. Especially because Daehyun was human she would likely think Youngjae wouldn't really need him.

After making sure no one was around, Youngjae approached the house and stopped in front of the door. It couldn't be opened from the inside and to open it from the outside, he would need a key. He felt a strange aching sensation in his chest, probably because Daehyun stood right at the other side of the door and was crying his eyes out. His instincts told him to break the door down and pull the other into a comforting hug but he knew the door was made from an extremely solid material. The only things that would be breaking if he tried to destruct the door were his bones. “Daehyun...” He pressed a hand against the door as if to hold out his hand towards the other, just that they were separated by a door. A slight feeling of comfort rushed over him. Youngjae could only guess that Daehyun had mimicked his action instinctively. “I'll get you out of here, just wait a little bit.” Youngjae promised, more to himself as Daehyun couldn't hear him anyway. He didn't really know yet how he was going to do that but maybe he would be able to come up with something while making his way to the palace. There was no way around talking to the queen.

 

***

 

The palace had been built in the centre of the city, towering over the houses of the parliament members, some stores and the smaller, yet almost equally impressive theatre building. Youngjae had always found it quite ironic how the government was seated in the middle of the entertainment district. Of course, the ones who had built their city had done so for obvious strategical reasons; parliament members who were busy enjoying themselves had less time to criticize whatever the royal family did. Also, the palace not being somewhere secluded where the people couldn't go but instead being in the middle of the city, the only separation being the large royal garden, created a sense of one-sided closeness between the people and the royal family.

He approached the entrance of the palace with firm steps, ignoring the guards' questions. They wouldn't dare to stop him anyway. His path led him straight into the throne room. “Your majesty.” He didn't even bother to bow.

The queen looked up from the documents she had been reading, not the slightest bit surprised by his sudden appearance.. Her throne stood on a pedestal, on her right side a table covered with papers. “Youngjae?” She put the documents aside and rested her hands in her lap. “What brings you here?”

“Don't pretend you don't know.” he spat, looking up at her with anger. “Why did you imprison Daehyun?”

“Daehyun who?”

“My partner.”

“Ah, you mean that human?” Her lips curled in contempt. “You know why you brought him here, shouldn't it be obvious why he needs to stay here?”

“What do you mean?” Youngjae furrowed his brows.

“Did you really think I would let you kill my grandchild?” The queen raised her eyebrows.

So that was it. She somehow knew about Daehyun being pregnant. “I never intended on having a child right now. But this was the only way to protect Daehyun. I told my doctor –“

“And I told him that he will be beheaded if he dares to lay a hand on the child. It may not be born yet but it might inherit the throne one day, depending on whether your brother decides to finally care about family or not, which makes it royal property.”

“Property? Are you insane?”

“Watch your mouth, son!”

Youngjae was speechless. How could his mother decide this on her own? She wasn't the pregnant one, for god's sake! “Daehyun has his own life, mother. We can't just keep him here against his will!”

“Don't worry about your little toy. He will have everything he wants and even more than that. He will live a better live than he ever could in the human world.” His mother smiled, although not a very kind smile. “I'll make sure that he is taken care of.”

“Don't call him that.” Youngjae knew that arguing his mother was pointless. Once she had something in mind she wouldn't give in, no matter what. Why hadn't he considered earlier that she would want the child? In his own short-sightedness, he had led Daehyun straight into the lion's den.

“What else should I call him? He's a mere human after all.”  She gave him a contemptuous look. “And I thought you would choose someone of our kind. There's never been a member of the royal family who chose a human. I seriously don't know what I did wrong when raising you.”

“Y ou didn't raise me.” Youngjae spat. “A nanny would look after me for like two hours, I've been alone for the rest of the time.” 

“Yes, no wonder you ended up like this.” His mother sighed. “You keep running from your duties, bond with humans… When will you finally start to act like a prince? Even your brother somewhat takes care of his duty, although unlike you he hasn't reproduced yet.”

“Of course not, we're still young.” Youngjae rolled his eyes. “And you don't seem to be retiring any time soon anyway.” His mother only insisted on them having children as soon as possible because it would secure the throne for another two generations. Other families were constantly trying to take over the power like Sung Joon's had. Basically everyone in the parliament spent the days they didn't spent partying questioning the royal family's rightful position. Not having an heir could result in being forced to give the crown to another family, which the queen of course had to prevent as she was the sustainer of the dynasty. However, she already had two heirs, her position was as safe as it could be. Why would she worry about what would happen after one of the brothers would inherit the throne? They would only inherit it after her death so it wasn't really her problem. She probably just loved forcing her will on others. “You'll get your heir one day when we're older, I promise. Just let Daehyun go.”

The queen pretended to think about his words, then shook her head, laughing. “I'm not stupid, Youngjae. You will take that human of yours and never come back again.” She stood up from her throne and walked towards Youngjae. “He'll stay here where I can make sure the baby is fine. You have two options: You stay here as well, perform your duties and get to see him once in a while, or you run away to the human world where I can't do anything to you.”

If that didn't mean Daehyun would be left here alone, Youngjae would choose the latter without hesitating. He had no interest in being a prince and everything that came with it. His older brother was the crown prince anyway. He gritted his teeth.

“What are you waiting for?” Triumphantly, she raised her eyebrows. “You know, if he wasn't already marked, I just would've given him to the soldiers but I guess he's safe like this.”

If she weren't his mother, scratch that, if she weren't the queen, he would have beaten her unconscious right here and now. “Don't you dare do anything to him.” He clenched his fists.

“You know I can't as long as he's marked. Though you know that marks can fade if for example one partner feels extremely betrayed by the other.” She gave him a meaningful look.

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it.” The queen chuckled. “Who was the one that left him with the people that locked him up?”

Of course, that must have seemed to Daehyun as if he had set that up but… would he really think Youngjae was capable of doing something as cruel as this? His heart stung a little bit. He had to resolve this misunderstanding as fast as possible, for their sake. If his assumed betrayal really was enough to make their mark fade, Daehyun was in danger. His mother would throw him away as soon as the baby was born.

“So what will you do?” The queen put her hand on his shoulder. She already knew what he was going to do.

“If you let me see him regularly...” That was his only choice. Maybe Daehyun and he would be able to think of a way to get out of here together. “I'll do whatever you want.”

She smirked. “Good choice. But remember, that human is of no use for me without the baby or when he's not here, which means if you'd like his head to stay on his shoulders, you better not try to get him out of here. Especially you should know that it's basically impossible to overcome our security system.”

“I know.” Youngjae's gaze was fixated on the floor. He was determined to get them out of here, without putting Daehyun in danger. He knew he could do at least that.


	25. Chapter 24

Daehyun woke up with stiff muscles and a neck that felt like it would break if he tried to turn his head. His head was throbbing and his chest still aching. Altogether, he felt terrible.

Groaning, he stretched his limbs. His first attempt to stand up failed. Miserably he sank against the door, back into the position he had fallen asleep in. Why he had thought it was a good idea to remain curled up against the door and cry himself to sleep when there was a rather comfortable-looking bed in the corner of the room, or house, whatever, was a mystery to him. Maybe in his desperate state, too clouded by emotions to make any rational decision he had decided he wasn't feeling bad enough already. This felt even worse than the worst hangover he had ever had. Obviously, since hangovers usually didn't lead to having chest pain. From what he knew, he had a very healthy heart. At least the doctors would have told him if that wasn't the case during one of the check-ups.

He tried to get up again, this time succeeding. Clutching his chest, he decided to check out the house. It was basically like a one-room-apartment. The living room, bed room and kitchen were combined into one room, the only other door apart from the front door led to the bathroom. Overall, the furniture was simple yet pretty. He checked the fridge as well, hoping for some comfort food but it was empty, unlike the book shelf that seemed to almost collapse under the weight of the many books. He couldn't read them though, they were written in the same kind of language Youngjae's book was.

Speaking of Youngjae, whenever he thought of the other's name, the pain in his chest worsened for a brief moment. He still had trouble fully grasping what had been done to him. He just refused to believe the other would be able to do this to him. Yes, he was being delusional. He knew that. Everything was counting against Youngjae. “Fuck!” he exclaimed and gripped the shirt above his chest a little tighter. That pain was going to make him go insane but he didn't want to call Youngjae _You-know-who_ or anything like that when he was talking to himself.  Denial was better for his mental health than acknowledging that the one who was supposed to protect him had betrayed him. People could actually die from a broken heart so it was better to pretend he wasn't heartbroken, for his own sake. Maybe he had misunderstood what the doctor had said and maybe he had misinterpreted Youngjae's behaviour the previous day. He genuinely wanted to believe that, though it was difficult to do so.

S ighing, he let himself fall onto the bed. His body felt like he had been run over by a truck, his emotional state was even worse, he was tired despite probably having slept for many hours and he was really hungry but locked in without any food. At least the bed was as comfortable as it looked. 

What was going to happen to him from now on? It didn't seem possible for him to get out of the house on his own. There were no windows and the door didn't even have a handle on the inside. He couldn't even tell what time it was to figure out when would be the best  moment to run away. He didn't have a clock and as there were no windows, he also couldn't check the sky. Though he wasn't sure whether they somehow adjusted the brightness of the crystals according to the time of the day.  Anyway, they probably weren't going to let him starve. The doctor had said he had been ordered to make sure the baby was fine, which meant they definitely wouldn't do anything that would harm his unborn child, such as not feeding him or hurting him in some way.  At least he hoped that.

While he still found the thought of actually being pregnant disturbing, he probably should come to terms with it as soon as possible. At least before he was going to notice that he was indeed pregnant. After how long would he start to have a baby belly? He really should have paid more attention when they had been discussing this kind of stuff in school. Not that he had thought he would ever need this kind of knowledge back then. A gay human usually didn't have to deal with pregnancy.  He sighed once again and slightly pressed down on his abdomen. It was weird, knowing there was something growing inside him, though he didn't feel anything yet.  He really wished Youngjae was there. The other was a medical student so he would definitely know enough about this pregnancy stuff. Also, he was starting to feel cold and lonely. He desperately needed the other's warm hug. At the same time, he was terribly scared of meeting the other again. As long as he didn't meet the other, he could pretend it was a misunderstanding. Once he would be face to face with Youngjae, the other would tell him he had to have the child and that it was the best for him to stay here.

Daehyun let out a shaky breath and wrapped himself inside the blanket but it didn't do anything against the coldness.

The other would tell him that it wasn't his right to decide what would happen with the child,  that it was Youngjae who was in charge of decision-making in their relationship. He would call Daehyun a naive little human who had actually thought he was an equal to him.

Sobbing and shivering, he pulled the blanket even tighter around his body. Again, it didn't make him feel any warmer. The chest pain had also gotten worse. “Fuck this.” he mumbled. “Fuck all of this.” The first mistake he had made was to go through that forest that night he had first met Sung Joon. Since then, everything had gradually gotten worse. Of course there had been good times in between but  it had gotten worse every time after that. All he had wanted was for things to become normal again. He had wanted to return to the life of an average university student. Now, he was the pregnant mate of a superhuman being, locked up in the city under the sea where these superhumans lived.  Far from back to normal.

“Are you okay?”

He flinched so hard he almost fell off the bed.

“Sorry, I didn't want to scare you.” A girl had entered through the front door without him noticing. Probably he had been lost in though. She was wearing layered dress that was somewhere between light blue and white. Her black hair had been tied up in a bun behind her head and her facial features were just as elegant as Youngjae's. In other words, she was drop-dead gorgeous. Too bad he was gay. “I came here to bring you clothes and food.” She held up the basket she had been carrying.

“Thank you?” Daehyun tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. He wasn't sure whether he could trust her. After all, she most likely worked for those who kept him here. 

Chuckling, she placed the basket on the kitchen table and began unpacking.

“You have kimchi?” Daehyun eyed the small boxes she placed on the table.

“Well, we usually don't eat that here but since you're from South Korea… Our cook figured you'd like to eat something you know.” She grabbed some clothes and handed them to him. “Since it's easier to get to used to new surroundings when there's something familiar.”

“Is that so?” He frowned a little. More than getting used to this, he wanted to go home. Suspiciously, he eyed the clothes. They were made from a very thin fabric, too light to keep him warm. Both the pants and the tunic-like shirt were cut rather widely. Probably they were very comfortable but he would also look fat. Not that he cared, he wouldn't be allowed to go outside anyway. “Isn't it too cold to wear something like this? The fabric is way too thin.” 

She gave him a pitying look. “I'm afraid warm clothes won't help you.”

“What do you mean?” His frown deepened.

“Well, um...” She played with a loose strand of her hair. “Partners aren't supposed to stay away from each other too long, especially not in the beginning. Your lacking emotional warmth? If that's the right way to put it.”

“Oh really.” He hugged himself. “So there's nothing I can do against the cold and… the pain?”

“Pain?” She eye him intensely. “Where are you hurting?”

Daehyun only clutched his chest and avoided her look.

Worriedly, she turned around and paced up and down the room. “This is not good, really not good.”

“What is it?” Her reaction made him even more anxious than he already was.

“That can happen when you're not positively responding to the mark. Or rather, to whoever marked you. It's very rare actually, unless someone was marked forcefully.” She knelt down in front of the bed and made eye contact with Daehyun. “This may be rude to ask but the prince didn't rape you, did he?”

“The prince?” Youngjae was a prince? No wonder the old man who had let them borrow his plane had been so respectful with Youngjae. He wasn't even surprised by this new fact anymore. Youngjae indeed looked like a royal, it only made sense.

“Prince Youngjae, who else? But something must have happened between you two?” She insisted when Daehyun shook his head. “Of course he should be with you right now rather than whatever he's doing but that can't be the reason, right? After all you know that he has important duties to take care of.”

Well, he had thought that much after he had just learned that Youngjae was a prince. That he might be a bit busy while he was here was no excuse to lock Daehyun up or force his child on him. Daehyun remained silent, unsure whether and how to tell her.

The girl stood up and placed her hands on her hips. “If you don't tell me what the issue is I won't be able to help you. It could turn out really bad for you if you continue to be like this.”

“How much worse can it get?” he mumbled with downcast eyes.

“What's so bad about your situation?” Though he wasn't looking at her, he could tell she was raising her eyebrows. “The prince chose you, a human. You're going to give birth to a child that might even inherit the throne. Isn't that more than a human could ever wish for? Shouldn't you feel honoured?”

Daehyun scoffed. “ _Humans_ have their own life too, you know? I never wanted to become the prince's concubine or whatever you consider me as. Or why do you think they locked me up?”

“For your safety?” She shrugged. “The royal family has a lot of enemies.”

“I would be safer at home.” He puffed his cheeks. “I never wanted to keep the child.”

“You wanted to abort it?” Her voice was full of disbelief.

Sighing, he began to tell her about the harassers and his plan to keep them away by letting himself be marked by Youngjae. He told her how Youngjae had promised him he wouldn't force them to keep the child.

She was left speechless for a moment. “No wonder you're like this. I still have a hard time believing the prince would actually betray you like this though. I always thought he was very kind.”

“I thought so too...” Daehyun buried his face in his hands and let out a shaky breath. “What did you mean when you said things would get worse for me if this goes on?” Actually, he didn't want to know.

“Well…” Once again, she started to play with her hair. “The mark could fade. I don't know if there would be any bad effects on the child but… The mark is what keeps you safe. The queen isn't known as someone who likes humans. I don't think she would treat you very nicely once you've given birth and the mark is gone.”

“Great.” His throat was suddenly extremely dry. “Seems like I'll have to escape before that happens.”

“That's impossible though.” The girl seemed shocked he even considered this. “You won't even be able to leave this house, let alone the city.”

Apparently that meant she wasn't going to help him. Not that he had expected her to. “There's no other way though.” Besides somehow forgiving Youngjae and accepting his current situation, probably. That would likely stop the mark from fading but he wasn't sure he could do that. To be honest, he didn't think he could ever trust the other again and trust was, from what he had understood, the most important thing in their relationship. Too bad Youngjae had ruined it. His face darkened when he heard the front door opening and the girl almost whispered a “Sir.”

Speaking of the devil.


	26. Chapter 25

Daehyun pressed himself further against the wall, as if trying to disappear into it. He didn't want to talk to Youngjae. He didn't even want to see him. Yet, he wanted to be physically close to him. Even though he was terribly hurt, he desperately needed the other's presence.

“Would you please leave us some privacy?” Youngjae smiled almost angelically at the girl.

“Of course, Sir.” She bowed deeply and hurried out of the house.

“Her name's Lia, she's been working for the queen since she was a kid.” Youngjae was frowning when he turned around to face Daehyun. “You shouldn't trust her.”

If he wasn't about to burst out in tears, Daehyun would have laughed sarcastically. “You are the right person to tell me who I should trust.” he mumbled instead and hugged himself tighter. Sighing, Youngjae sat down on the bed close to Daehyun, who shuffled away a little, ignoring the other's hurt facial expression. Served him right.

Youngjae reached to pet his hair but his hand was slapped away. “Daehyun...”

“Go away.” Daehyun demonstratively looked into the opposite direction. “I don't want to talk to you.”

“We have to.” Youngjae insisted and grabbed Daehyun's wrist. “Let me explain.” He tried to gently pull Daehyun closer to him but the other refused to move even the slightest bit from his position.

“What do you want to explain?” Daehyun turned his head slightly towards Youngjae but not enough to actually meet his eyes. “Why I'm locked up here? Why I don't have the right do decide over my own body, even though you promised me I would? You sure need some good explanations for that.” His voice was dull but in his eyes shone tears.

“It's because...” Youngjae cleared his throat. “I really didn't want this to happen but...” He seemed to be struggling to find the right words in front of an almost crying Daehyun. “I'm sorry.” He pulled Daehyun's wrist again, this time with a little bit more force but still failed to make him move. Instead, he seated himself closer to Daehyun and wrapped his arms around him. “I should have known better than to bring you here.”

Daehyun instantly relaxed into the other's touch. Still, he tried half-heartedly to push Youngjae away. “Don't touch me.”

“I didn't plan this.” Youngjae mumbled, his face hidden in the crook of Daehyun's neck. “I would never do this to you.”

“Then why am I here? Why aren't we on our way home already?” He was close to crying. “I don't want to stay here and I don't want to be pregnant.”

“I'm sorry. I really am.” Youngjae repeated. “It's the queen's decision. Since the child is a possible heir...”

“Your mother?”

“I wouldn't exactly call her that.” Youngjae snorted. “She's just as much of a mother as your foster parents were parents.”

“How does she know about the child?”

“Not sure, maybe my doctor has told her, or the old man knew by how you smell.” Youngjae hugged him tighter. “I should have known she wouldn't just let us go. I'm sorry.”

“But aren't you the prince?” Daehyun turned his head a little farther into Youngjae's direction and raised his eyebrows. “Shouldn't it be easy for you to get me out of here?”

“Are you still suspecting me?” Youngjae pressed a kiss on Daehyun's neck.

“You have to admit it's a weird coincidence that exactly the same people you left me with had me locked up. Were did you even go then? Why did you dress yourself in whatever kind of clothing you wear here if we were going to leave anyway?”

Youngjae hesitated. “I don't think I should tell you that.”

“And yet I have to trust you.” Daehyun rolled his eyes and freed himself from the other's embrace. “Suddenly we're back to the beginning of this story.”

“What do you mean?” Confused, Youngjae went after Daehyun, who had gotten up from the bed and was pacing around in the room.

“Remember that you said you wanted to be completely honest with me?”

Youngjae slowly nodded.

“Then why are you still not telling me anything?” Daehyun yelled and clenched his hands into fists. “I can't trust you if you behave like this!”

“Where I went isn't important!” Youngjae grabbed Daehyun by his shoulders and forced him to stand still. “I'm telling you that-”

“That I can trust you, I know.” Daehyun let out a bitter laugh. “That you didn't plan this, that you didn't go away so that it would be easier to pretend you had no idea and are on my side. Sure.”

“Why are you like this?” Youngjae lightly shook him. “I know it's basically my fault that we ended up here but it wasn't intentional, I swear! After all, I lo-” He abruptly turned away. “Not that it matters. You don't seem to understand.”

“Of course I don't! You seem to have forgotten that your little pet human can't read your thoughts.”

“Pet human? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Isn't that what I am to you?” Daehyun suddenly couldn't hold back the tears anymore. “Or toy, breeding tool, whatever you prefer.” He almost choked on his words. “You are just like the others. You- Fuck!” He tumbled a little and clutched his chest. His face was scrunched up in pain.

“Daehyun!” Youngjae barely managed to catch him before he hit the ground. “What's wrong?”

“It hurts so much.” Daehyun whimpered. “ _You_ hurt so much.”

“You're so cold.” Youngjae once again wrapped his arms around Daehyun and pulled him as close as possible, trying to warm him. “I never wanted to hurt you, please believe me.”

Daehyun shook his head weakly. “You always lie.”

“Not this time.” Youngjae leaned down to connect their lips in a sweet, gentle kiss and for a moment everything seemed okay again, as if they were back to their apartment. That moment didn't last long though.

Daehyun at once turned his head away and hit the other's chest. “Don't feed on me right now, bastard.”

Chuckling lightly, Youngjae caressed Daehyun's cheek. “That just now isn't called feeding.”

Daehyun blushed. “Whatever, I don't want this either.” He folded his arms in front of his chest, although he couldn't help snuggling a little bit against the other.

“Sure.” Laughing softly, Youngjae lifted him up bridal style and carried him to the bed. After tucking him into bed, he sat at the edge of it and held Daehyun's hand. “I'm going to get you out of here but you need to give me some time. I may be a prince but that doesn't mean I can do as I please, more like the opposite.”

“Sure.” Daehyun mumbled and rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, you'll need about nine months?” He squeezed the other's hand tightly. “What will happen with the child?”

“I'm not sure I'll be able to find another doctor who'd be willing to abort it.” Youngjae admitted. “It seems that now all of them are loyal to the queen and I don't trust human doctors. They wouldn't know what to do with a pregnant male anyway.”

“In other words I'll have to give birth to a child.” Daehyun let out a shaky breath. “So you're still forcing me to keep it.”

“It's not that I'm forcing you but I haven't figured out yet what to do. The top priority right now is to get you out of here.” Youngjae drew circles on his hand with his thumb.

“You never wanted me to abort the child, so you're probably not too unhappy about this, right?” Daehyun tried to make eye-contact but the other avoided him. “Don't try to lie to me.”

“I'm unhappy about this situation as a whole. I didn't want this to happen to us.”

“That's not the answer to my question.” Daehyun raised his eyebrows. “I won't be mad.”

“Well...” Youngjae hesitated. Instead, he focused on caressing Daehyun's hand with his thumb. “I didn't plan on having a child at my age but I'm happy it's with you and not… someone else.”

Daehyun slowly nodded. “I see.” He paused for a moment. “I too am happy it's you.”

Smiling, Youngjae leaned down and pecked his forehead. “I know it's hard but let's try to make the best out of it.”

Daehyun hummed softly. “Can I really trust you to help me?”

“I'll do whatever I can.” Youngjae promised. “I can't promise you that I'll be successful but I'd say there's a 95% chance I will be.”

“I guess that'll have to be enough.” He sighed. “Don't you dare to betray me again though.”

“I didn't-” Youngjae protested but quickly shut his mouth when Daehyun glared at him. “Anyway, I don't know yet how often I'll be able to visit you. I'll make sure to come by as much as possible but we both have to be careful of the queen.”

“It's not like I need you.” Daehyun puffed his cheeks. “Don't overdo yourself.”

“Same goes for you. You still seem somewhat weak.” Youngjae pressed his hand against Daehyun's forehead. “At least you're not that cold anymore. Have you eaten yet?”

“No because you suddenly came in when I was about to. I haven't even changed yet.”

“Changed?” Youngjae eyed the clothes Lia had given Daehyun and grimaced. “They at least could have given you prettier clothes.”

“Must be their way of making sure I won't ever leave the house, even if the security system somehow fails. I'd be too embarrassed to go out wearing this sack.” After snatching the clothes from Youngjae's hands, he got up and walked towards the bathroom on shaky legs to get changed, ignoring the other's amused look. It took him a few minutes until he had figured out how to wear them. When he finally came out of the bathroom again, his face was bright red. “Don't you dare laughing at me!”

“It doesn't look _that_ bad.” The corners of Youngjae's mouth twitched.

“I look more than twice as fat!” Daehyun tugged at the edge of his shirt.

“I told you it's not that bad.” Youngjae got up and pulled Daehyun into a hug. “You still look good.”

“If you say so.” Daehyun mumbled before he freed himself. “Will you stay for dinner?” He had to get used to this new daily-life, even if only for a short amount of time, until Youngjae would get him out of here. Maintaining even the slightest bit of their routine, such as eating together would probably help. So much for him not being able to trust the other anymore. He didn't even know himself how Youngjae was always able to convince him. At least Youngjae's presence made him feel better.

“Sure. Did Lia bring you precooked food?” He went towards the table and checked the boxes. “They must have known it'd be dangerous to let you cook something yourself.”

“Thank you.” Daehyun rolled his eyes and sat down at the kitchen table. “What did I do to deserve such a charming partner?”

“A charming partner who can cook.” Youngjae corrected him laughing. He took out some plates and placed them on the table.

Just as Youngjae was about to sit down as well, Daehyun motioned him to remain standing. “First tell me where you went yesterday when… you know.”

“I thought we were past this.” Youngjae looked at him with pleading eyes. “It's really not that important.”

“Just tell me already, I won't be mad. Maybe a little but it can't be that bad, I guess? Or rather hope.”

“You'll definitely be mad.” Youngjae laughed nervously. “I guess that's normal in this situation but...”

“Tell me.” Daehyun insisted. “The food was given to me after all, I won't share with you if you don't tell me.”

“Um...” Youngjae hesitated, subconsciously moving his hands upwards as if to protect himself. “I went to see my fiancée to-”

“Get the fuck out of here.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like having some more drama, bear with me please :D  
> Also, the next update may be a little late because I'll be visiting my sister and not be able to write much ^^


	27. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update and short chapter, I'm currently very busy because it's Christmas soon and I've also been sick ㅠㅠ

“You got kicked out?” Laughing amusedly, Lia raised her eyebrows. “You two are so much like a real couple already.”

“I see you're done pretending to respect me.” Youngjae rolled his eyes. “That kind of act doesn't suit you well. You were really awkward.”

“I used to be your tutor after all. It's weird to see you all grown-up.” She shrugged. “Anyway, what did you do that made him so mad?”

“I had to tell him about my fiancée...”

“Well, that was simply stupid. Why would you tell him that?” Shaking her head, she folded her arms in front of her chest. “He's super sensitive right now, of course he'd get mad knowing he's basically just an affair. Especially since you didn't tell him before marking him.”

“He'd have gotten even madder if I had refused to tell him where I went yesterday.” Sighing, Youngjae ruffled his hair. “There can never be a right answer in this kind of situation. He'll hopefully calm down soon.”

“Maybe.” Lia handed him a small calendar. “Though I doubt that you'll be able to see him that soon again.”

“My schedule, huh?” Youngjae flipped through the pages. “I literally arrived yesterday, how can I have that many appointments already?” The queen had really wasted no time. He barely had enough time to sleep, let alone visit Daehyun.

“You would have much less to do if you hadn't been away for so long.” She patted his shoulder. “Probably you'll be able to visit him once every few days or weeks. The queen wouldn't keep you apart for the whole time as it might ruin your and the child's health.”

“She wants our bond to break though. So that she can do whatever she wants to him.”

“Which is why she's not letting you see him 24/7. The positive aspect is that while you don't have as much time to repair your bond, there's less time in which you could ruin it even farther.”

“Wow, that's great. The queen is actually helping us to keep our relationship intact.” Youngjae replied sarcastically.

“You have to admit that you're really good at unintentionally making things worse. Just like you did today.” She turned away to leave. “Do what she expects you to do and everything will turn out to be as it should be.”

“You're on the queen's side.” It was a statement, not a question. Lia and her entire family had been serving the royal family for generations and their loyalty belonged to whoever sat on the throne. Besides, other than maybe compassion she had no reason to find his mother's doings wrong. No matter how nice she probably had behaved in front of Daehyun, she looked down on humans, like most of their kind did. Most likely, she would also pull the politics card.

“Politically it only makes sense. A human as part of the royal family doesn't exactly stabilise your power. On the contrary. There's a reason why you were supposed to mark and bond with the daughter of the third most powerful family in Sublamaro. Well, second since Sung Joon's family is practically gone.”

“I don't even like her.” Youngjae scoffed. “I get the urge to throw her out of the window every time she opens her mouth.”

“Once you've marked her, positive feelings will come automatically.” Lia shrugged. “You might have to force yourself a little in the beginning but it will get better.”

“Too bad you can only mark one person.” Which was why the queen wanted him and Daehyun to grow apart. Partners were supposed to stay together for the rest of their life. They weren't supposed to be attracted to anyone else, unless the mark would fade completely, which only rarely happened. Youngjae doubted though that he would be able to feel attracted to someone else, even if the mark would fade completely. “I definitely won't force myself to go out with that girl, no matter how hard the queen tries to make me. As long as Daehyun's marked, she can't do anything to him anyway so she can't threaten me.”

Lia scoffed. “So convinced you'll be able to make him trust you again, aren't you? I don't want your feelings to get hurt but isn't it time to face reality?”

“Reality is that Daehyun and I are a couple, whether any of you like it or not. I'm not the queen's possession, nor am I still a child. And you don't have the right to lock Daehyun up.” He glared in the direction of the guard that was currently maintaining his distance but would take his position in front of the door as soon as he and Lia would leave. “All of you think so highly of yourself because of birthrights and titles, things that mean nothing in the rest of the world. Your _reality_ is nothing more than an illusion elsewhere.”

“But we're not elsewhere. We're here.” Sighing, Lia massaged one of her temples. “Try to go against your mother then. Good luck. You'll need it.”

Definitely. Both in order to get closer to Daehyun again and to go against his mother. Not that he hadn't done the latter before but back then, he hadn't been risking anything he cared about. His title had been on the line when he had left for the human world, something he didn't even want. Now, he was risking Daehyun's life. For that single reason he couldn't afford failure. No matter what, they had to get out of here as soon as possible and he still needed to figure out what to do with the child. Of course he wouldn't be against keeping it but he had to consider Daehyun too. They had to come to a conclusion as long as Daehyun wasn't too far into the pregnancy.

“But first you'll be a good son for once and take care of your schedules.” Lia told him with her eyebrows raised, interrupting his trail of thoughts.

“Sure.” Youngjae rolled his eyes. He would have to play along for a while. If he was able to gain the queen's favour, she might let him see Daehyun more often. Or rather, if he was able to make her think he was willing to do whatever she wanted. “There's nothing I'd rather do.” he said sarcastically.

“Good.” She slightly grimaced. “I'm in charge of bringing him food and whatever he needs, so you don't need to worry about him starving or something.”

“I do, if you keep the portions that small that is. Or only come once a day. He eats for three.” Youngjae almost chuckled. “Oh, and that kind of clothing, really?”

“I'll keep that in mind. Thank you so much for your advice, _Sir._ ” Lia scoffed and rolled her eyes.. “I need to leave now and so do you, I believe.”

Youngjae once again opened his schedule to take a look at the appointments for today. “Indeed.” he nodded and frowned. Of course his first appointment for the day had to be his future father-in-law, or rather the man who would be very angry about not being his future father-in-law anymore, as his daughter probably already told him. Unlike what Daehyun must be thinking, he had visited his fiancée to tell her their engagement was practically cancelled. It wasn't official yet since the queen hadn't announced it but as long as he was bound to Daehyun it was a fact. Anyway, he had managed to get himself kicked out twice within two days for almost the same reason and he likely was going to get himself kicked out a third time. It wasn't a regular schedule, it was going to be somewhat scary and humiliating, which was his mother's method of showing people their place. Sighing, he turned away from Lia. “I'll get going then.” With heavy steps he walked away from the house, not without looking back once. It would be a lie to say he wasn't anxious about what was going to come but he would handle it somehow.

 

 

 


	28. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay once again ㅠ ㅠ
> 
> I wish you all a belated Happy New Year ♥

“Isn't he coming back at all?” Daehyun sat on his bed pouting, his back leant against the wall. “It's been two weeks already.”

“He's quite busy, you know. Since he neglected his duties for so long.” Lia had her back turned on him as she was preparing some dishes.

“Still, isn't two weeks too long?” Daehyun nervously chewed on his finger nails. “I mean, I did tell him to get out but he couldn't have taken it that seriously, right?”

“Probably not.” She only shrugged and placed some bowls on the table. “Come eat something. You haven't eaten well for the last few days.”

“I'm not hungry.” Daehyun mumbled and continued to bite his nails.

“You must be.” Lia walked over and slightly nudged his shoulder. “He told me to make sure you get enough to eat after you kicked him out. He said you eat for three.”

“You're just making that up so I feel better.”

“No I'm not. Look,” she placed her hand on his shoulder, “I know it's hard on you but you can't just let yourself drown in self-pity. If you're not hungry, force yourself to eat. If you continue being like this you'll only prove those right who think you're weak.”

“Maybe I am. I shouldn't be that forgiving when it comes to Youngjae and definitely not that dependant on him. He's fucked up so many times, I don't even know why I still like him.” he admitted and clutched his chest at the lightly stinging feeling. “It's foolish to trust him but I somehow want to.”

“Of course you'd want to.” She shrugged but he thought he had seen her frown for the blink of an eye. He should never forget that Youngjae had said he couldn't trust her, though it was quite tiring to mistrust the only person that kept him company from time to time. “You're partners after all.”

“It doesn't feel like that at all though.” Daehyun pouted. “Besides, being a couple doesn't mean you have to tolerate everything the other does.”

“Well, you're more than just a couple. Partners would instinctively trust the other. Of course there's always a limit to trust but I assure you it's not too abnormal that you want to trust him, even in your situation.”

“Are you telling me that I'm only trusting him because of instincts but rationally, there's no reason to?”

Lia let out a deep sigh. “Why do you keep twisting my words to make yourself feel even worse?”

“It's true, isn't it?” He shifted around uncomfortably. “Rationally, I shouldn't trust anyone here.”

“That would be very lonely.” Sitting down beside him, Lia wrapped one arm around his shoulders. “I'm in no position to judge the prince's behaviour and decisions. It's up to you what to make of your current situation. If you feel like you want to trust the prince, then do so and if you don't want to, don't. Don't think to much about it, it won't do you any good.”

“Easier said than done.” he mumbled and hugged himself. “It's not a fair choice either, having to choose between being cold and hurt or rather comforted.”

“Not everything in life can be fair.” Lia shrugged once again, like she always did when she didn't want to talk about something any longer. “All I know is that you have to survive somehow. Not for the child, not for the prince. Do it for yourself. Where's your determination to get out of here?”

This time, Daehyun was the one who shrugged. “Where would it be? In my condition, I wouldn't make it very far, even if I'd somehow be able to get out of this house.” While he didn't really feel sick or anything, he was extremely exhausted. The loneliness and uncertainty were slowly taking a toll on his psyche and body. He was cold and his chest was aching most of the time, his thoughts changing from missing Youngjae to cursing him every few minutes. Lia had said he might be confused because of the hormones and this unfamiliar situation. Whatever the reason was, he didn't like it. Countless times he had wished himself back in his apartment, together with Youngjae, before all this crazy stuff had started to happen. Or maybe before these people had started to harass him at university. The events with Sung Joon had been terrible but at least he had become a lot closer to Youngjae through them and short time afterwards had probably been the best of his life. Now it seemed he and Youngjae were miles apart. Maybe his imprisonment would have been endurable if he wasn't so unsure about feelings for Youngjae and even more unsure about what Youngjae was feeling for him. “It's hopeless.”

“You poor thing.” Lia mumbled, barely loud enough for him to hear. It sounded as if she was mocking him, rather than pitying, as it did so often when she said something. Within the blink of an eye, she had turned around, grabbed a piece of fruit and pressed it against his lips. “Now eat.” She frowned when he shook his head and pressed his lips together tightly. “You have to eat now! I've overlooked it for the past few days because you're obviously feeling bad but if you continue not to eat, you'll weaken your body even more and I can't allow that. It's my job to keep you safe after all.”

“Will you be scolded if I don't eat?” he asked after turning his head away so she couldn't push the fruit into his mouth.

“Maybe. What's for sure is that someone else will come to take care of you, if I can't do my job properly. Someone who will not ask you to eat but someone who will force your jaw open, if necessary.” She poked his lips with the fruit. “Come on, it's only a piece of fruit. You can eat at least this much.”

Hesitantly, he opened his mouth. Before he had the chance to take a bite, she shoved the entire piece into his mouth. He struggled a little until he had finally managed to eat the whole thing. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“No, I'm making sure you don't only eat a small piece.” She chuckled and patted his shoulder. “See, it wasn't-” Suddenly, she stood upright and didn't move even the slightest bit, as if she didn't dare looking at the person who had just entered and stood in the doorway without saying anything.

Daehyun also didn't dare to look up, though he couldn't tell why. Instinctively, he wanted to run away.

“Leave us alone.” an icy voice ordered.

Daehyun flinched a little when Lia hurried out of the house, not without bowing deeply in front of that person. He didn't want to be alone with her. It could only be one person. The one person that was responsible for his situation, if he considered Youngjae innocent.

“Look up.” the queen ordered him.

 

The boy slowly followed her words, even though he obviously would have preferred to hide under his blanket like the child he still was, to some extent at least. It satisfied her that she had this effect on him. Despite being a human, his bond with one of her kind had changed his body enough that it would recognize whom he should be afraid of. He was pretty, she would give him that. Or rather, she would admit that her son's taste wasn't too bad. Of course it would have been better if he had simply followed the plans she had made for him but at least their child wouldn't be ugly and it wasn't too late for Youngjae to marry the girl either. She could tell the boy was torn between loving and hating Youngjae, between trust and suspicion. Once that seed of doubt had been planted, Youngjae would have a hard time to restore the unconditional trust that should be shared by partners, which would eventually lead to them growing apart. When the time was right, she would deliver the final blow to their bond but not yet. If the bond broke this early, the boy's body might reject the child and he would be in high risk of suffering a miscarriage. However, if it broke within the last month of his pregnancy, it wouldn't negatively affect the child's health. The most favourable would be that he wouldn't survive giving birth. If he did, she would have to find him a more suitable position than at Youngjae's side.

She slowly went further into the room, secretly enjoying the way he pressed himself further into the wall as if wanting to disappear in it. “Pathetic... I told you to look at me.” she hissed at him when he lowered his head after her first word. Leaning forward, she grabbed his chin with her graceful but strong fingers and forced him to meet her gaze again. “You don't have to be afraid of me. Not as long as you have something I want.” He flinched under her touch, yet he didn't dare to move away. “What is your name?” Youngjae had told her but she hadn't bothered to remember and she was almost sure she wouldn't this time as well.

“Daehyun.” he answered after hesitating a little. His voice was just as lovely as his face. Her son's and her taste weren't too different after all. She liked it when her toys had nice voices like this one. It made their screams even more enjoyable.

“Daehyun.” she repeated and chuckled softly. “Great virtue.” She ignored his confused look as she let go of him and seated herself next to him on the bed. “Now, tell me about yourself.”

“What?” He raised his eyebrows and frowned a little. It was obvious he wanted to yell at her. She could almost picture him jumping up and starting to yell: “ _You locked me up like a mere prisoner,_ _took away_ _even the most basics of my rights,_ _literally ruined my life and now you sit down right next to me as if we were friends and want to get to know me?”_ Yet he didn't. She could almost feel the fear he was radiating.

“Tell me about yourself.” She smiled a cold smile. “How did you meet Youngjae?”

“We...” Once again Daehyun hesitated. It was amusing how hard he was trying to find the right words, to not get himself into trouble. “We lived together. To divide living costs.”

“So you were simply living together because it was practical?”

Daehyun nodded and avoided to look at her.

“What a weird coincidence, don't you think? That it turned out to be you who got to live with him.”

“I was the only one responded to the newspaper advertisement.” His lips were tightly pressed together. He knew what she was hinting at.

“Of course he would tell you that. My son is rebellious but not stupid. And he is definitely not a saint, as shameful as it is for me as his mother to admit.”

It was as if she could see his thoughts twirling around inside of his head, trying to recall if Youngjae had ever done something that would prove her accusations to be true. “He has never done anything of that sort, if that's what you're talking about.”

She pretended to be shocked. “Oh, and how did you become pregnant then?”

“That's...” He blushed. “That was after certain events have happened. He didn't plan to do that from the start.”

“Of course.” She chuckled. “Of course. He silently suffered living with someone who looks the same as as his lover-”

“Lover?” Youngjae probably had told Daehyun he had never been together with Donghyun, which was the truth but now it was her against Youngjae's word.

“and who is that oblivious to anything he would do. You must have a very deep sleep.”

“I do but...” Daehyun seemed to be at a loss for words because of what she had just implied. That should be enough for today. Maybe she should let him see Youngjae in a couple of days, just in case she did a too good job at unsettling him.

“Anyway, it's been a pleasure talking to you.” She smiled sweetly as she stood up. “We should do that again, don't you think? After all, your basically my son-in-law.”

He didn't answer. Instead, he stared at the ground, his hands balled into fists.

She slightly turned back into his direction when she had reached the door. “Remember to eat well. We don't want you to get sick.”

With that, she left Daehyun alone with his cheerless thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	29. Chapter 28

To say Youngjae was tired would be an understatement. He was exhausted. By now caffeine and the hope he and Daehyun would be able to go home again were the only things that made him keep going. He went from appointment to appointment without any sense of time or a plan that would save Daehyun. Hoping he would somehow be able to catch his mother off guard if she was completely satisfied with him, he did his best to complete all his tasks with excellence. Even the parliament members hadn't criticized him at all when they usually did everything they could to bring members of the royal family down.

However, Youngjae was unsure how long he would be able to continue like this. Not only did his schedule barely leave him any time for life-sustaining measures like sleep and proper meals but his crumbling bond with Daehyun was wearing him out too. While it didn't affect him as much as Daehyun, he still felt a dull pain in his chest from time to time and was always a little cold. He needed some time with Daehyun but he wasn't sure his mother would give him that. While he must have at least fulfilled her expectation that didn't mean she would reward him, at least not after probably only around three weeks had passed.

She wanted them to suffer and if necessary, she made sure they would on her own. A few days ago, he had suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest that had almost knocked him out. Later he had heard that the queen had visited “the prince's boy”. She must have said something that had shocked Daehyun and unsettled him even more than he had been already and as long as he wasn't able to see him, he couldn't calm him.

“Your majesty?”

Startled, Youngjae turned around to face the maid that had just entered. “Don't you know you should knock before entering?” he hissed but immediately felt guilty when she flinched at his tone.

“I did but there was no answer.” She fiddled nervously with the hem of her shirt.

“Oh, sorry.” Ashamed at his outburst, he looked at the ground. “What do you want?”

“I was told to make sure you get ready for tonight's banquette. It will begin in an hour.”

Youngjae nodded. “Thank you.” A banquette with all the parliament members, including his ex father-in-law, his mother and lots of other nobles he couldn't stand being in the same room with. That sure was going to be a ton of fun.

“Also, the queen said that your appointments tomorrow evening are cancelled.”

“What?” Surprised, Youngjae's mouth dropped open. He had just been thinking about how his mother probably wouldn't let him see Daehyun and suddenly he was free for the whole evening. Free to see Daehyun.

“I'll leave now.” The maid bowed deeply before she walked backwards in order to leave the room without turning her back on him. He had always found that kind of rather stupid but she would be punished if she disobeyed it, so he didn't say anything.

Sighing, he walked to his bathroom. If he wanted to survive this banquette, he would need a relaxing bath first. Though he finally had something to look forward to. He would only have to make it through this and the next day.

 

“Thank you for your time, your majesty.”

Smiling politely, Youngjae slightly bowed and left the room where the conference had taken place. Usually, he would have jumped up and down in excitement but now he was both too tired and surrounded by people that were supposed to respect, maybe fear him, so he simply walked as fast as he could without running. He didn't bother to change into less formal clothing. They only had this evening and maybe the night, if Daehyun let him stay.

It didn't took him very long until he stood in front of the door of Daehyun's house. He stood there for a minute, listening whether there were any voices inside but he didn't hear anything. Lia must have left already. “Let me in.” he ordered the guard, who immediately bowed and opened the door.

Daehyun was sitting on the bed. He didn't even look up when Youngjae entered. He probably thought Lia had returned because she had forgotten to leave him fresh clothes or something like that. “Daehyun?” Youngjae hesitantly called out his name. It was obvious the other wasn't very well, so he didn't want to scare him by immediately jumping at him to pull him into a hug. He had terribly missed him.

Daehyun slowly raised his head but didn't look at him. “Youngjae.” His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't talked for a few days.

Youngjae slowly walked closer. “You've lost weight.” Quite a lot it seemed. While he couldn't properly see the other's body beneath his clothes, he could see very clearly that his face had become much slimmer.

“I've lost my appetite.” Daehyun shrugged weakly. “After I hadn't eaten for a few days, they forced me to but I couldn't keep anything down for long.”

Cautiously, Youngjae sat down beside him and put one arm around his shoulders, paying attention to every detail of Daehyun's body language. Luckily Daehyun didn't tense up or anything. Instead, he slightly leaned into Youngjae's touch, though he didn't relax either.

“Whatever the queen- my mother has said, don't believe her. She wants us to grow apart.”

“I know.” Daehyun sighed. “I know I can't trust her but that doesn't mean I'll trust _you_. Untrustworthiness seems to run in the family.”

“Maybe.” Youngjae didn't bother denying it. What Daehyun needed right now wasn't to be convinced that Youngjae was innocent. Of course he would have to succeed at that sometime in order to completely restore their bond but right now, he just needed Youngjae to be there for him. “Is it okay if I stay until tomorrow morning?”

“I guess so.” Daehyun mumbled and rested his head on the other's shoulders. “But if you do anything I don't like I'll kick your ass out of here.”

“Sure.” Youngjae pulled Daehyun a little closer. Actually he would have expected at least a small outburst like when he had seen him the last time. Seemed like he was exhausted as well, as expected. “You probably haven't eaten dinner yet, right?”

Daehyun nodded. “I told you I've lost my appetite.”

“Then we should eat something first.” Youngjae figured that Daehyun couldn't eat was a psychological thing rather than because of his pregnancy. While pregnant people would typically feel nauseous sometimes, that nausea would most often occur from the 6th to the 12th week of pregnancy and Daehyun was only at the beginning of his 4th week. If it was indeed psychological, the likely cause was him having lost everything he cherished in life and thus also his will to live. Maybe he was a bit arrogant thinking that he was one of those things but if that was the case, Daehyun might be able to eat at least a little if he was with him.

Daehyun shook his head, yet he followed Youngjae and sat at the kitchen table. “I don't think I can.”

“Just try a little bit.” Youngjae eyed the stuff Lia had brought him and picked anything that was at least the slightest bit gentle on the stomach. Greasy or sour food wouldn't be good for him after he hadn't eaten for several days. “You can always stop eating if you start feeling sick.” He placed the food on the table and handed Daehyun a bowl, a spoon and chopsticks.

Hesitantly, Daehyun ate a spoonful of soup.

“How is it?”

The corners of Daehyun's mouth twitched. “It's okay, I guess. You people here have a weird taste though.”

“Vegetables and fruits taste different since they're grown with artificial light.” Youngjae shrugged. “It's not that bad, once you get used to it. Though it sometimes sucks that things here will never taste as sweet as things grown in the human world. Except for you maybe.” Youngjae quickly put one of his hands over his mouth but he hadn't been able to stop himself from saying that. Hopefully the other wouldn't get mad.

Daehyun only mumbled a “Bastard.” as he stuffed his mouth with some more soup.

Youngjae let out a relieved sigh. Daehyun was sensitive in his current state, he really should be more careful with what he said. It would be a waste if their short time together would end just because he was too stupid to watch his mouth. While it had always been fun to tease Daehyun, they currently weren't close enough for that, as bitter as it was to admit. No matter what, he couldn't lose his chance to get closer to Daehyun again by behaving as if they were.

Daehyun pushed one of the dishes towards him. “You eat too.”

Youngjae almost squealed at how cute Daehyun was with the spoon still in his mouth. Seems like the hormones didn't affect Daehyun alone. Normally, he would never _squeal_ or anything like that, despite Daehyun's tendency to often act like a clumsy kitten. He quickly hid his red face behind a bowl and gulped the food down at record speed.

“One could almost think you were the one who couldn't eat properly.” Daehyun chuckled softly.

Youngjae suppressed a proud smile. So he was still able to make Daehyun laugh after all, even if only a little. “I didn't have a lot of free time lately, so… I would have come earlier if I could.”

“I see.” Daehyun suddenly became quiet and blankly stared at the table.

“You don't believe me?”

Daehyun shook his head. “It's not that...”

“Then what is it?” Youngjae frowned worriedly. “I know that we're still far from being back to how we were before we came here but we won't be able to solve this if you don't tell me what I should do.”

Daehyun's cheeks reddened. “I missed you and I hate that.”

“I missed you too.” Youngjae leant over the table and ruffled the other's hair. “Terribly.”

“But I shouldn't miss you. You treated me very badly.” Daehyun huffed.

“Well...” Youngjae scratched the back of his head. “Couples fight, don't they? And they make up again.” Honestly, he would have gotten on his knees and begged but he doubted that would help at all.

“I don't think I can forgive you though, at least not yet. Of course you told me I shouldn't trust the queen's words and I know that myself but I can't seem to forget what she said.” Daehyun sighed.

“Look, I won't try to convince you now that I'm on your side, it's true though, just so you know.” Youngjae made direct eye-contact with Daehyun. “That can wait until we've gotten out of here.”

Daehyun nodded. “I agree. Also, you know, _that_ has to be taken care of.” He pointed at his belly. “Whether you like it or not.”

“Of course.” Youngjae held Daehyun's hand, pretending not to notice how it twitched as if Daehyun wanted to pull it away. “We should go to bed now, don't you think?”

“Answer me first. Did you ever date Donghyun?”

Youngjae was a little thrown off guard by that question. Nevertheless he answered honestly. “No. He died before I was able to tell him about my feelings for him.”

“I see. And you never used me as a… substitute for him? Or intentionally searched for someone who could replace him?” Daehyun gulped. It seemed like he was afraid of the answer.

Youngjae shook his head. “To be honest, the first few weeks I cursed you every single time I looked at you for looking like him. I noticed rather soon though that you were a completely different person and I never thought of you as anything else.”

Daehyun sighed again but this time in relief. So that must be what the queen had told him.

Youngjae smiled at him. “Let's get ready for bed then.”

He washed up quickly and sat on the bed, waiting for Daehyun. It went well, so far. Daehyun hadn't jumped into his arms, as expected but he also hadn't yelled at him or accused him of having done anything. Instead, he had remained calm enough to test him.

“Move a little.” Daehyun had just stepped out of the bathroom door and threw himself onto the bed next to him.

Youngjae chuckled and rolled over so that he lay with his back facing the wall. “Come here.” He opened his arms and motioned Daehyun to let himself be hugged. The other needed physical affection right now and he had always liked being hugged anyway.

Daehyun avoided his look and blushed, yet he positioned himself in Youngjae's arms and grabbed his hands when Youngjae wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer.

“We can do this.” Youngjae placed a gentle kiss on the back of Daehyun's neck. “Everything will be okay.”

Daehyun didn't respond but Youngjae could feel him relaxing noticeably.

He buried his face in Daehyun's neck. Daehyun's scent comforted him. That night he slept better than he had in weeks.

 


	30. Chapter 29

****

Another three weeks had passed. Daehyun was starting to become anxious.

He had little knowledge about pregnancy and Lia had yet to give him some more information on it but she had told him that the baby belly would usually show somewhere starting from the 12th week. Since he didn't know when the baby would start to feel anything, he had decided he wouldn't have an abortion after the 12th week. He needed some kind of orientation after all. Now already half of that time had passed. Youngjae didn't seem to have a plan on how to get out of this damn city, let alone on how to deal with the baby. Daehyun was afraid he would end up having to keep the child. It wasn't like he hated children or anything. In fact, he had always wanted to have many of them but not under these circumstances. He definitely would have to give up on his studies, or rather, he had already been forced to do so but having a child, he also wouldn't be able to return to them. Also, just in case they wouldn't be able to get out of here, he wouldn't even be allowed to raise the child on his own. The queen would take the child away and he… Well, that would depend entirely on his relationship with Youngjae. He still felt drawn towards Youngjae. The other's presence was comforting and warm. That probably meant their bond was still rather intact and he would prefer it to stay that way. The bond he and Youngjae shared was his protection. Who knew what the queen would do to him if he didn't have that protection anymore. Moreover, while he didn't trust the other completely yet, he trusted him to explain himself once they had gotten out of here, at least most of the time.

There was something that threatened them, that was extremely scary on top of that: The queen. She had only visited him once and in that short amount of time, she had made him doubt Youngjae so much it felt as if she had ripped his heart out and she had said they should do that again. Every day, whenever the door opened, he feared the queen might have returned. Luckily, so far it had only been Youngjae once and Lia the other times. He wasn't too sure if his bond with Youngjae would withstand another talk with the queen. Even Youngjae's visit hadn't repaired all of the damage the queen had done. Before she had come to talk to him, he had been ready to throw himself into Youngjae's arms the second he stepped through the door, despite not fully knowing whether he really could trust the other. After the queen had talked to him, he had lost all hope they would ever be a real couple. For a short while, he had truly believed Youngjae only liked him because he looked like Daehyun. When he had asked Youngjae however, there had been not even the slightest hint of a lie, which had calmed him quite a lot. Still, he felt insecure quite often. What if after all Youngjae wouldn't be able to explain himself? What if Youngjae _did_ plan all of this? From time to time, this nagging doubt overcame him, making his chest sting painfully. The queen would only need to enforce this doubt and she was damn good at this. It was only natural to fear someone who was able to manipulate one's emotions and thoughts to this extent. Even though she hadn't talked to him that long and had only hinted at certain things, he didn't seem to be able to forget her words. Youngjae hadn't been able to make him forget them either and Lia hadn't even tried. While she was his only company and he desperately wanted someone to talk to, he knew now that she was on the queen's side. The signs had always been there. He couldn't tell her what he felt since she would definitely tell the queen, who shouldn't know that he sometimes doubted Youngjae.

Sighing, Daehyun stopped pacing around the room and threw himself onto his bed. It was useless to torture himself with these thoughts. The only thing he could do was wait. He had to wait for Youngjae to save him, as always. If Youngjae would actually come this time. “Fuck.” He slightly pulled his hair in order to distract himself from his thoughts. That he didn't have much to do didn't really help stopping him from overthinking.

When his scalp started to sting a little, he instead put one hand on his abdomen and pressed down. By now he probably had grown a womb or something like that, at least he assumed that. He had never asked Lia in what ways his body would change, simply because he didn't want to know. It would change in a way that would enable him to give birth to a child. There wasn't really more he needed to know. “Come to think of it now...” He mumbled to himself as had developed a habit of talking to himself recently. “I won't grow boobs, will I?!” he exclaimed. “I really should have asked her about at least that.”

“I don't think so.” He heard someone chuckling behind him. “Even if you do, they probably won't be bigger than A-cups.”

Daehyun immediately spun around to face a very amused but still obviously stressed Youngjae. He hadn't even noticed him coming in. “What are you suddenly doing here?” Smiling awkwardly, he did his best trying to hide both his conflicting emotions towards Youngjae and his embarrassment because of being caught talking to himself, about breasts of all possible topics. “I didn't notice you coming in.”

“Well, I did try to be as silent as I could.” Youngjae once again chuckled at Daehyun blushing but quickly composed himself and put on a stern expression. “Since no one can know I'm here.” He walked towards Daehyun and grabbed his hand. “Let's get out of here now.”

Startled, Daehyun blinked several times. “What?” He definitely hadn't expected that. Just a few minutes ago he had thought that he might be stuck here forever and now they were going to flee?

“I was able to secure a small plane, it's just big enough for two persons. We'll be able to escape with that. I drugged the guard but it won't take very long until someone notices so we have to hurry.” Youngjae tugged a little on Daehyun's hand when the other didn't move an inch. “Aren't you coming? I thought you would be happy that we're going home.”

“I am, I think.” Daehyun just had trouble processing what he had just been told. It was extremely unexpected. Moreover, Youngjae's escape plan had one terrible flaw. “Can you actually fly a plane?”

Youngjae hesitated before he simply shrugged and mumbled “How difficult could that be?”

“Are you serious?” Daehyun laughed nervously. “I mean, I do want to leave here but I don't want to die.”

“I'm sorry but this is the only plan I've been able to come up. We'll only be able to leave Sublamaro by plane anyway and we can't trust anyone else. It would also take to long for me to learn how to fly properly, not that anyone would teach me anyway.” Youngjae pulled Daehyun again. His facial expression became more and more worried. “Please, we don't have much time. I've prepared myself using books, I just have never done it in real life but-”

“Okay then.” Daehyun interrupted Youngjae, as he couldn't stand seeing Youngjae so worried and desperate. “Just let me change into my actual clothes.”

“We don't have time for that. It's already been so long since I've come in here.”

Sighing, Daehyun nodded. “Fine then. If the price for our freedom is to be seen in this,” he dramatically pointed at his loose, thin clothes, “so be it.”

“That's a rather fair price, I'd say.” Youngjae laughed softly. He then let go of Daehyun's hand and instead motioned him to follow him quickly.

Daehyun carefully walked after Youngjae. The guard was lying unconsciously next to the door. He would have thought by now at least someone would have noticed but the streets were completely empty.

“They're at the theatre.” Youngjae grimaced. “The world could end and they'd still not be missing out on their weekly play. It will be over soon though. This way.” He speeded up until he was half walking, half running. Every few metres he turned around to make sure Daehyun was still close behind him. “We're almost there.”

Daehyun only nodded, slightly out of breath already. While he had been able to eat at least a little after Youngjae's last visit, it still hadn't been nearly as much as he had used to and he also hadn't been walking as much. Most of his days had been spent sitting on his bed. Sometimes, he had also walked around in his room but never for long.

“Are you okay?” Youngjae once again looked back at him, frowning worriedly. “I could carry you.”

Daehyun gritted his teeth and shook his head. He wasn't that weak.

Youngjae nodded, yet he slowed down a little until he walked beside Daehyun and not in front of him.

It didn't take long until they reached a cave that also somehow seemed to be a hangar. Daehyun couldn't help but stare in awe at the many planes. They weren't as big as the ones public airlines used but he guessed they couldn't be much bigger because they might not fit through the opening in the mountain otherwise.

“This cave is connected to the cave where we landed.” Youngjae smiled assuringly and pointed at a small plane in the middle of the cave. “This is ours.”

Daehyun raised an eyebrow. “You mean this is the one we'll be stealing?” Ultimately, even if Youngjae was rich it was actually his family's wealth and his mother would definitely not allow him to take one of these planes.

“Indeed.” Youngjae grinned. “This is exciting, isn't it?” He then cleared his throat. “Well, maybe it's more scary than it's exciting.” After taking one of the keys that hung at the wall, he walked towards the plane, pulling Daehyun with him.

“That's not really safe, just letting the keys hanging around without any security or so.”

“Not many people want to leave her and those who do usually have permission. Basically everyone except for the princes is allowed to leave whenever they want.” Youngjae rolled his eyes as he helped Daehyun to enter the plane. He then sat down at the pilot's seat and started the engine.

“Princes? You have brothers?”

“One. Now put your seat belt on.” Youngjae swallowed and furrowed his brows. When Daehyun had complied, he piloted the plane towards a large hole in the wall, through which they entered the next cave. He let it roll onto the platform, then proceeded by typing a code via a touchscreen. “This should activate the platform.”

Daehyun reached over the back rest of the other's seat and squeezed his shoulder assuringly. Until now it had always been Youngjae who had comforted him so many times. Now he had to be the comforting one, as the other was visibly nervous. Youngjae was smart, no one would ever doubt that. He would surely be able to learn how to fly a plane by himself but that didn't mean he himself had as much trust in his abilities. “You can do it.”

“Of course I can.” Youngjae tried to sound confident, yet failed miserably, though he couldn't hide the satisfied smile when they felt the platform moving. Soon, the plane was lifted into the air and basically thrown through the opening.

Daehyun had to cover his eyes for a brief moment as the sun was blinding him. “I almost forgot how bright it was.”

Youngjae nodded and grinned. “I kind of missed this.”

“I thought it was too garish?”

“It is but it's still nice. The lights in Sublamaro is not as garish but also rather cold.”

“I see.” Excitedly, Daehyun looked out of the window, despite being a little afraid of heights. He had missed the sun as well as the sky. Anything about being outside really. “I can't wait to breathe fresh air.”

Youngjae was about to reply when his whole body suddenly tensed.

“What is it?” Daehyun asked, immediately on alert. He leaned forward, only to see a lot of red on the screens in front of Youngjae. There were words too but he couldn't read them. “What does it say?” Just in this moment, a mechanical voice rang out of the speakers, saying something in a language he didn't understand but he recognized it as the language Youngjae had used to talked to the guard that let them into Sublamaro.

“You have not been authorized to leave Sublamaro.” Youngjae translated, breaking out in cold sweat. “Immediately return.”

“Shit.” Daehyun cursed. “So there is some kind of security after all.”

“I didn't know.” Youngjae pushed some buttons frantically. “There must be some software that controls this plane. If I can deactivate it-”

“What do you mean it controls this plane?” Daehyun panicked. He felt his chest tighten uncomfortably, making it hard to breathe. _Don't hyperventilate or some shit like that. You can't distract Youngjae from whatever he's doing._ Trying to calm himself, Daehyun massaged his own shoulder.

“It seems that if we don't return within the time limit, the plane will- Forget that, we'll just have to reach land as soon as possible.”

“The plane will crash, is it that?” It was almost ridiculous how high Daehyun's voice suddenly became. Just when he had started to believe they would safely reach Korea, this happened. Why couldn't they just live in peace?

“We'll just land somewhere, it'll be okay.” Youngjae didn't sound seem convinced.

“Well, are there any islands within reach?” From what Daehyun remembered, there weren't any but maybe he just hadn't paid enough attention on their way to Sublamaro.

“Not sure.” Youngjae admitted. “There might be small islands that aren't on maps. Let's just hope for the best.”

“Sounds great.” Daehyun mumbled. A yank went through the plane. “Don't tell me that's what I think it is.”

“Look under your seat, there should be a parachute.” Youngjae did the same while also trying to keep the plane as steady as possible.

“This can't be happening.” Daehyun whimpered as he put the parachute on. “I don't even know how this thing works.”

“You just need to pull on the cord and the parachute will unfold.” Youngjae explained in a surprisingly calm manner. “I'll try to keep the plane in the air as long as possible, we're not far from a small island. We might be able to make it their.”

Daehyun nodded, until he remembered Youngjae was focused on the blinking screens in front of him. “Okay.”

“Just wait until I tell you to jump.”

In fact, Daehyun had hoped that maybe they would be able to reach the island in time, that they would land safely. He was afraid of heights and not only a little. That fear seemed to be much stronger than the knowledge that the parachute would slow down his falling so it wouldn't feel as if he landed on cement. So when Youngjae opened the hatch through which they had entered the plane and yelled “Jump!” he stayed glued to his seat. “I can't.” He could tell the plane was trundling downward. If not for the seatbelt, he would already have fallen out.

Youngjae, who had already stood up to jump was desperately holding onto his seat. “Daehyun _please_.” Hesitantly he reached out to Daehyun with one hand, struggling to keep standing. “We'll jump together.”

Daehyun was shaking terribly, yet he took the other's hand and unfastened his seatbelt. With one yank of the plane, they were thrown into the air. “Youngjae!” Daehyun screamed when they were ripped apart by the harsh wind. He was thrown back and forth and most of all, he fell down at a rapid speed. Below him the plane crashed into the water.

“The cord!” It was almost impossible to understand but Daehyun figured that was what Youngjae had yelled at him.

Hastily, he pulled it and yelped when the parachute unfolded and he was pulled upwards a little before he started to sink down much slower. “Youngjae?” he yelled, hoping to see the other somewhere but he couldn't find him. What he did see however was an island. It was either extremely small or extremely far away. “Fuck.” He clutched onto his parachute and kept looking out for Youngjae but refusing to look down. The roaring sound of the sea was scary enough and it became louder with every metre he sank down. It wasn't long until his feet met with the surface of the sea. At least the wind had blown him further into the direction of the island but that didn't mean he would be able to reach it. He had always been a weak swimmer.

Daehyun gasped when he fell into the cold water. Salt water got into his eyes, making them burn and he accidentally swallowed a bit of it. Desperately, he struggled to reach the surface again but the parachute was pulling him down. When he tried to take it off, he instead entangled one of his feet in the parachute, which limited his movements even further. The pressure in his head and chest became harder to bear. The harder he tried to reach the surface, the harder it became to hold his breath. _Just one more metre… please…_ He mustered up all of his strength but just when he was almost there, he breathed in reflexively. Burning water filled his lungs. He coughed, only to breath in more salt water. He struggled even more, despite his limbs becoming numb slowly, yet to no avail. Even though he was drowning, it felt as if his lungs were on fire. His vision became even more blurry than it already was because of the water. Just when he was about to lose consciousness, someone cut his foot free and pushed him upwards.

Daehyun gasped for air when his head broke through the surface of the water, while also simultaneously coughing in order to get the water out of his lungs.

Youngjae's head appeared next to him. “Are you okay?” He was breathing heavily. “I thought I lost you.”

Daehyun only managed a weak nod as he was still using all his leftover strength to stay afloat.

“The island is this way.” Youngjae pointed behind them. It was incredible how he still had a sense of direction. “Can you try to swim as far as you can?” Again a weak nod from Daehyun. “I'll carry you once you're too tired.”

Daehyun started to swim in the direction Youngjae had pointed to, Youngjae always by his side. It was extremely tiring as they had to swim to high waves, wore clothes and the water was extremely cold. Yet Daehyun managed to swim almost all the way to the island. Maybe it was his will to live, maybe it was Youngjae's encouraging smile whenever he looked at him that gave him strength. They were about 200metres away from the island when his limbs gave out and Youngjae quickly pulled his arms over his shoulders.

“I never thought I'd be this happy to be at the beach.” Youngjae was almost laughing as he pulled Daehyun out of the water. “I mean, it's just sandy and usually there are way too many people for it to be enjoyable but now...”

“Do you have any idea where we are exactly?” Daehyun slowly stood up, shivering. “Or rather, do you have any idea how we'll get off this island?”

Youngjae pulled him into a tight hug in order to warm him. “Of course.” He grinned. “We actually should have gotten close enough to South Korea that ships or planes often pass by this island. I don't think we'll have to stay here for more than one day.”

Daehyun sighed in relief and snuggled into the other's chest. “So we'll be home soon.”

“Yes.” Youngjae smiled and pressed a kiss onto Daehyun's forehead. “We'll go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know anything about planes nor parachutes so just ignore that part pls :D


	31. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay again T.T Actually, I got a litte too caught up working on other stories so that I almost forgot I need to update this story too ^^'  
> Btw, in which setting would you be more interested: two kingdoms at war or a boarding school for society's elites?

“This should help a bit.” Youngjae said and seated himself as close to the fire he had started as possible. “Come here.” He opened his arms and legs so that Daehyun could sit between them. Wrapping his arms around the other's waist, he covered Daehyun's necks with tender kisses.

“It's warm.” Daehyun mumbled as he closed his eyes, enjoying being this close to Youngjae after a while. “And comfy.”

“As comfortable as a beach can be.” Youngjae chuckled. “But I guess it's endurable. At least it's not winter so we won't freeze to death.”

“And our clothes won't turn into ice because we're still soaking wet.” Daehyun laughed as well. Probably the most comforting thing was that they still had each other despite all that had happened.

“That as well.” Still laughing a little, Youngjae shifted a little closer to to Daehyun, if that was even possible. “It'll become dark soon. We will stay warm if we stay close to the fire and each other.”

“What about food?” Daehyun was damn hungry after having almost drowned and swimming for who-knows-how-long. “When we'll be home?”

“Either that if someone finds us tomorrow or we can search the island for some fruits. I'm afraid I don't know how to fish.”

“That'll do.” Daehyun sighed and rested his head on the other's shoulder. “It's been long since we've been able to speak like this.”

“Three weeks.” Youngjae smiled apologetically. “I should have come by more often. You must have been lonely.”

“No, I mean… It's been long since it's just been us two, free, you know.” Daehyun let out a shaky breath, trying to conceal his emotions. “You've gotten me out of there and saved my life. I-” He felt bad, to say the least. Bad for suspecting that he wasn't even trying. “I'm sorry.”

“It wasn't your fault.” Youngjae gently turned Daehyun's head to face him. “You were scared, confused and I didn't do much to help.”

“I wasn't the only one struggling though.” Looking closely, he could see clearly how tired the other was. He put his hand onto the back of Youngjae's neck and slightly pulled him down, grinning when the other looked at him bewildered. “What, I can't be the only one who's hungry.”

“Well, the last time I kissed you you called me a bastard because you thought I was feeding on you.” Youngjae raised his eyebrows. “You sure you want to do this? I mean-”

“I am.” Daehyun shushed him. “Everything might not be back to normal yet but it probably will be soon. I want it to be at least and I think if we do things we used to do quite regularly, that might speed things up.”

“So it's not because you missed this? Oh, it is.” Youngjae teased when Daehyun blushed at his question.

“Shut up and do it already.” Daehyun mumbled, embarrassed at being caught. He had always liked physical affection and his body's hormones going crazy had made it worse, if that was the right word. Craving physical affection wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Not when you had someone who was willing to give that to him, which hadn't been the case for the last few weeks.

“As you wish.” Youngjae chuckled and leant down, closing the distance between them.

Daehyun sighed in bliss when he felt the other's soft lips against his own, allowing him to slip his tongue into his mouth. He moaned when Youngjae's tongue worked his magic on him while his hand slipped under his wet shirt simultaneously, caressing his bare skin. It didn't take long until he had forgotten his cold, wet clothes and instead started to feel incredibly warm.

Youngjae broke the kiss after only a short while, earning himself a slightly disappointed look from Daehyun. “Your body is already weakened from earlier and also because of...” His hand that had been roaming around freely under Daehyun's shirt rested on Daehyun's abdomen for a brief moment, not brief enough though for Daehyun not to notice. “I can't take too much qi from you if you're in this state.”

“I see.” Daehyun sighed. He would have almost forgotten about his little problem. “How will we, I mean-” It was uncomfortable having to bring this up now, while they were making out, especially since Youngjae probably wasn't as eager to talk about this. Surprisingly, Daehyun noticed he wasn't as eager to know of a solution as he thought he would be as well. Maybe he had somewhat come to terms with having a child, or maybe he simply didn't want to ruin this moment by talking about an abortion Youngjae actually wasn't happy about, he wasn't sure either.

“I've talked to an acquaintance.” Youngjae hesitated. “She had to take care of something like this before too, without her husband noticing. Apparently there are doctors of our kind in the human world who do this stuff illegally.” He stopped touching Daehyun's chest and reached to hold his hand. “Money won't be a problem so we can arrange a meeting with one of them as soon as we arrive home. She gave me the contact addresses of a few.”

“Sounds good.” Daehyun mumbled and squeezed the other's hand a little. “Then we'll only have to come up with a credible excuse for my professors. And for yours.”

“A sick relative always works, doesn't it?” Youngjae chuckled. “Otherwise, some extra money in addition to the usual fees will do.”

“There's really nothing one can't fix with money, huh?” He turned his head to press a kiss on Youngjae's jaw.

“A few things maybe.” Youngjae's free hand once again slipped under Daehyun's shirt, this time wandering slowly towards his nether regions. “But you're not having ambitions to change this corrupt world, hopefully. It would make your rich boyfriend's life much more difficult.” Grinning, he tugged at the waistband of Daehyun's pants.

“Boyfriend?” Daehyun raised an eyebrow at that but didn't comment on that any further when Youngjae's grin widened a little bit instead of an answer. So they were dating, as of now. Or maybe they had already been since Youngjae had marked him according to their understanding but as of now, they were dating in a way humans would consider dating as well.

“Anyway,” Youngjae continued to grin as if they were simply joking while his hand sneaked into Daehyun's pants, making him gasp in surprise. “since we're only here for a day or so, let's make use of this time as much as possible, shall we?”

“What do you mean?” Daehyun asked breathlessly when he felt the other's fingers touch him through his boxers in a teasing manner, not enough to actually stimulate him.

“Didn't you ever think about what it would be like to do _it_ under the open sky?” Youngjae winked and continued to tease Daehyun.

“It?” So Youngjae wanted to do, well, boyfriend-things as soon as they had started to date officially. He didn't totally object that offer actually but that didn't mean he wasn't a little nervous. After all, he had only ever slept with someone one time. Although that one time had felt extremely good, he still wasn't used to giving someone else that much control over his body. Kisses were one thing, having someone _inside_ him was on a completely different level of intimacy.

“I don't have to tell you what I mean, do I?” Youngjae put slightly more pressure onto Daehyun's crotch, who had to stop himself from moving his hips towards the other's touch.

“Your literally inside my pants already, of course you don't.” Daehyun rolled his eyes.

“With the wrong body part though.” Youngjae tilted his head, still grinning. Honestly, that grin was starting to get on Daehyun's nerves. “I just need a simple yes. Or no, of course, if you don't want to.”

“You're being annoying, you know that?” Daehyun rolled his eyes, still trying not to give into the other's teasing.

“Why, because I'm asking for permission? Isn't that what you should do in a healthy relationship?” Youngjae tried his best to sound concerned but his still not wavering grin told Daehyun otherwise, so did his continued teasing.

“First of all, you're supposed to ask before you start touching me, not in the midst of it. Secondly, you're being a damn tease right now, which is really annoying.” Daehyun suppressed a half-annoyed, half-aroused groan. “We shouldn't be rushing things like this.

“So you're saying you don't want this?” This time, Youngjae actually sounded mildly surprised. “I mean-”

“That's not what I meant.” Daehyun slightly blushed. “It's just a bit sudden, that's all.”

“I see.” Youngjae nodded slowly and removed his hand from Daehyun's pants. “Well, after all we haven't even talked a lot within the past few weeks. I just thought this would help both of us. Heal some wounds, you know.”

Wounds. Obviously their bond. Sleeping with each other would indeed prove that they trusted the other quite a lot, or restore some of that trust. He hadn't even considered that. While their escape had quite a lot, he knew they weren't back to being a perfectly happy couple yet.

“I understand though.” Youngjae nodded again. “We'll have all the time in the world for that once we're home.”

“Well...” Daehyun hesitated. He did want to become as close to Youngjae as before as soon as possible. That sex would help with that was new but it was very logical, considering that's how he had been marked in the first place and also with how primitive this bond seemed to be. Besides, the short kiss and teasing hadn't done anything against his cravings for physical contact. “I'm still a little insecure about this whole thing but… You'll be careful, will you?”

“Of course.” Youngjae ran a single finger over the side of Daehyun's neck. “I'd never hurt you.”

“And don't make fun of me.” Daehyun blushed. “Or say weird things.”

“That means no dirty talk? Where's all the fun then?” Youngjae fake-pouted. “Oh well, I guess the pretty sounds you'll make have to be enough to satisfy me.”

“There, that's one of the weird things you shouldn't be saying!” Daehyun yelled with a bright red face and jumped up. “That's it, we're sleeping on opposite sides of the fire.”

“Come on, don't be like that.” Youngjae pulled him down again with gentle force and Daehyun let himself be pulled. Youngjae somehow managed to make Daehyun end up lying on the ground with him on top without Daehyun actually knowing how he ended up there. “Just tell me if you want me to stop.”

“Last time you said you weren't sure whether you could stop in the middle of it.” Daehyun raised his eyebrows and laughed at the other's obviously startled facial expression.

“Um, I'll do my best to control myself I suppose?”

“Alright then. And what about the sand? Won't it get everywhere?”

Confused, Youngjae tilted his head and looked down at him. “Do you want to or not? Right now it seems you're trying to talk me out of it.”

“I'm joking.” Daehyun smirked. “You do the same to me all the time. Doesn't feel god, does it? Though I'm serious when it comes to the sand.”

“No, it really doesn't. I'll definitely get back on you for that.” The corners of Youngjae's mouth twitched.

“That's not what I was aiming at...”

“About the sand… Let's not worry about that until tomorrow.”

“Sounds oddly familiar.” Daehyun rolled his eyes but didn't resist when Youngjae stripped him with swift movements. “It's already uncomfortable.”

“Always complaining.” Youngjae poked his cheek.

“You're not the one lying naked on sand. Want to change places?”

“Maybe next time.” Youngjae leant down to kiss him.

This time, Daehyun was the one who turned away first. “So you're saying you would let me top next time?” He grinned at the other, who immediately shook his head at that.

“That's never gonna happen but I'd let you ride me.” Youngjae smirked and raised his eyebrows in a way that probably was supposed to look sexy. “You need to be a little bit more experienced and comfortable for that though.”

“So much for fairness in our relationship.” Daehyun pouted. He would have liked to see the other moaning under him for a change but with him being so much weaker than the other… No, even if he would be stronger, he would never force himself on the other. Maybe he would be able to convince the other to try something new some time.

“Fairness means everyone profits from this and you can't deny you like this just as much as I do. Anyway,” Youngjae suddenly threw Daehyun's legs over his shoulders and pulled his lower body up so that his ass was right in front of Youngjae's face. “our time on this beautiful beach is limited and we shouldn't pull an all-nighter, so let's not waste further time.”

“What are you-” Daehyun gasped when something wet forced his way through the ring of muscles and started to move around inside him. “Don't, that's dirty.”

Youngjae chuckled and continued his actions, drawing out soft moans from the other whenever his tongue poked against that particularly sensitive spot.

Daehyun tried to hold onto something and settled for the other's hair, who groaned when Daehyun accidentally pulled on his hair a little too hard.

After a few minutes Youngjae stopped and dropped him onto the ground to undress himself.

“Be a bit more gentle, will you?”

“Sorry.” Youngjae smiled apologetically. “I'm becoming a little bit impatient.”

“What will we do without- um, you know...” Daehyun blushed. “Won't it hurt without lube?”

“Actually...” Youngjae, already shirtless pulled a small bottle out of his pocket.

“Why did you take that with you?” Daehyun propped himself up on both elbows and eyed the other suspiciously. Why would someone carry a bottle of lube with him if he was planning to flee? “You didn't plan this, did you?” He felt a familiar pain in his chest.

“I didn't plan to have a plane crash and have you almost drowning. Initially I thought we would reach our home safely and- well, celebrate that a bit. And when we stranded here, I thought that we might as well use this opportunity to… It's been a fantasy of mine.” Embarrassed, Youngjae avoided Daehyun's piercing gaze. “I missed you, that's all.”

“Is that so?” Daehyun briefly remembered how the queen had hinted that Youngjae preferred his body over him as a person but quickly pushed the thought aside. He felt hot and his insides were tingling, craving for more stimulation. “Let's satisfy that fantasy then.” Tilting his head so that his neck was exposed and slightly opening his mouth, he did his best to look seductive and judging by how Youngjae halted all his movements and instead stared at him, he was very successful. “Earth to Youngjae.”

“Ah-” Snapping out of some likely rather dirty thoughts, Youngjae placed the bottle of lube next to Daehyun and stood up to get rid of his pants. “How about you prepare yourself?”

“My- Myself?” Daehyun stuttered. That would be embarrassing as hell. Although… He did want to have some power over Youngjae and seeing how the other had reacted he didn't have to top him in order to control him. “I don't know how to...” Hesitantly, he grabbed the bottle of lube.

“I'll guide you.” It was hard to tell since the sun had already started to set but it seemed as if the other's eyes had become darker and so had his voice. It was basically dripping with lust.

With slightly shaking hands, he poured some of the lube onto his fingers.

“First insert one finger.”

“I figured that much.” Daehyun rolled his eyes and hesitantly rubbed some of the lube against his hole. It was probably going to look awkward rather than sexy but whatever, he wasn't going to back down now. Pushing one finger inside, he tried to maintain eye-contact with the other as he felt around inside him. He gasped when his finger brushed over his sweet spot, feeling his muscles relax instantly. Poking it lightly a few times, he let out a moan, though it didn't feel as intense as when he didn't have any control over it.

Meanwhile Youngjae had gotten rid of his pants and boxers and knelt in front of him to get a better view. “I think you can add a second finger now.”

Daehyun did as he was told, frowning at how incredibly hard it was to move the fingers even the slightest bit. Relaxing his muscles as much as possible made it a little bit better but it still was almost impossible to mimic the scissoring movements Youngjae showed him. Either Youngjae had much stronger fingers than him or he was better at hiding how tiring this was.

“Difficult, isn't it?” Youngjae chuckled a little. “It will loosen up after a while, just keep going.”

Daehyun did his best. Soon he was panting, either from the stimulation or the physical effort. It took a few minutes until he felt that it became easier to move his fingers.

“Now the third one.” Youngjae instructed when he noticed that Daehyun could move his fingers with less difficulty.

“My fingers will fall off.” Daehyun complained. He never would have imagined that stretching himself would be this tiring.

“It's more tiring because you have to bend your wrist in an uncomfortable angle.” Youngjae chuckled again. “Want me to take over?”

Daehyun nodded shyly, spreading his legs wider so that the other could feet between them. When Youngjae seated himself closer to Daehyun, he could see that the other was rock-hard. That at least assured him that he hadn't looked ridiculous.

Youngjae coated his fingers in lube quickly and pushed three fingers into Daehyun's hole. It was obvious he was impatient by the way he moved his fingers, though Daehyun currently didn't particularly dislike the other being a little bit rougher than usual. He was getting a little bit impatient too. “I think that's enough.” Youngjae mumbled and pulled his fingers out, at which Daehyun whimpered softly. He proceeded to lube himself up. “Ready?” Leaning down, he kissed Daehyun's forehead, who nodded, partially nervous, partially aroused.

Daehyun slightly arched his back and moaned a little louder than he would have liked to when he felt the other's length slowly stretching and filling him. He wrapped his arms around Youngjae's neck and pulled him as close to himself as possible, so that their faces were side by side. Another moan escaped his mouth when Youngjae started moving, hitting his prostate with every single thrust. Waves of pleasure rushed over him, making his body shake. He turned his head to press a kiss on Youngjae's cheek, who appeared to be startled by him taking the initiative but didn't slow down, on the contrary. “Youngjae-” Daehyun whimpered and tightened his grip on the other.

“Yes?” Youngjae propped himself up and smirked at Daehyun. “I see someone's having a good time.”

“I don't think I can take this much longer.” Daehyun whined. Even though his dick was still untouched, he could already feel the familiar sensation of a nearing orgasm.

“Already?” Youngjae fake-pouted and stroked Daehyun's hair.

Daehyun nodded breathlessly.

“Cum then.” Youngjae connected their lips and sped up his pace.

Daehyun's hands got tangled in Youngjae's sweaty hair as his body shook uncontrollably when the orgasm rushed over him.

Youngjae came inside him only a few thrusts after him. He gasped for air and buried his face in the crook of Daehyun's neck, inhaling his scent.

They remained like that for a few minutes until Daehyun suddenly cleared his throat. “This is becoming a little uncomfortable. Also, I'm really tired.”

Laughing softly, Youngjae rolled off him. “It might be gross but we should put our clothes on, otherwise the night might be a too little cold.”

 

The sun was rising when Daehyun woke up. He grimaced at how his clothes stuck to his skin. He really couldn't wait for a hot shower. Shivering, as the fire had already gone out, he turned to lay on the side to examine the other's sleeping face. Youngjae definitely looked more peaceful and relaxed than the previous day. Daehyun poked his cheek in order to wake him up. It was unusual that he woke up first but it also wasn't surprising considering how tired he had been.

“Daehyun...” Youngjae mumbled and stirred in his sleep.

Daehyun chuckled. “So you're dreaming about me, aren't you?” He suddenly jumped up when he heard a strange noise. “Youngjae, wake up!” Excitedly, he bent down and shook the other.

“What's wrong?” Youngjae sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily.

“A plane.” Daehyun pointed to the sky.

“That's-” Youngjae squinted his eyes, trying to make out more than just a silhouette. His eyes widened. “That's not just one plane.”

“What does that mean?” Confused, Daehyun examined the other's bewildered face.

“We have to hide in the forest.” Youngjae grabbed his wrist. “Run!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still awkward when writing smut tbh, guess I should practice more ;)


	32. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long T-T I'm going to go to university soon, so I've been really busy with finding a place to live etc.  
> I can't promise that the next updates will be on a regular basis since my life won't get any less busy but I'll do my best >.<  
> (The next chapter is almost finished though, trains apparently are a really good place to write :D)

Daehyun stumbled behind Youngjae, who ran at a speed he could barely keep up with. Despite struggling not to fall down quite a few times they reached the forest. Out of breath, Daehyun leant against a tree but Youngjae pulled him further into the forest, a little slower though.

“We have to find a hiding place.” Youngjae kept looking around. “Those were our soldiers' planes. This island must still be within Sublamaro's reach but if we manage to reach Seoul before they find us, we'll be safe.”

Daehyun's heart skipped a beat. So they were already searching for them. “If we're in the forest, they can't see us from above, right?” He desperately hoped for a yes.

“Well, no but they might have seen us when we were at the beach.” Youngjae frowned. “Even if they didn't, we should never underestimate them. What the queen wants, they'll get it for her, no matter how.”

“I thought we were safe...”

“I didn't think they'd be able to find us this soon. Usually they would have to search the entire ocean, or maybe assume that we've already reached South Korea.” Youngjae inspected a hole in the ground.

“We won't ever fit in there.” Daehyun commented dryly.

“I can see that myself.” Youngjae rolled his eyes and continued to pull Daehyun with him. A few branches cracked in the distance. He narrowed his eyes.“They landed here.”

“But how-” Daehyun's voice cracked in fear. “How do they know that we're here?” He knew too well that there was no escape. This island wasn't particularly big, except for the forest there was nowhere to hide. It wouldn't take long until they were found. Why did this have to happen just when he had thought everything was going to be okay? It felt somewhat surreal, like a bad dream that he would awake from soon.

“I don't know. I thought it would take them at least two days to reach this area and by that time, we would have already been in Seoul.” Youngjae smiled sadly and pulled Daehyun into a tight hug. “I don't think there's a point in continuing to away.”

“Yes, they'll catch us anyway.” Daehyun mumbled, his words muffled by the other's shoulder. He clutched Youngjae's shirt and leaned closer, inhaling his scent. “And everything will go back to how it was before yesterday.”

“Well, not everything.” Youngjae pressed a kiss on Daehyun's hair.

Indeed. Their bond had almost been restored completely and he doubted the queen or anyone would be able to weaken it again. Or maybe he just hoped that.

They remained hugging, not minding the nearing foot steps, simply enjoying the other's presence, though Daehyun started to tremble a bit when the foot steps got louder.

“Everything is gonna be okay.” Youngjae whispered when the soldiers were already within sight. “We'll have another chance.”

Daehyun only nodded, barely noticeable. Maybe.

“Please step back your majesty.” one of the soldiers demanded as soon as they arrived at the scene.

Daehyun knew by the way the other's muscles tensed that he considered fighting them but he also knew that they were too many and they probably were armed as well.

“Your majesty.” a second soldier insisted when Youngjae didn't move. They seemed to be hesitant about actually laying their hands on their prince. So when Youngjae still showed no intention of moving away from Daehyun, they tried to pull Daehyun away instead but Youngjae didn't let him go. It took them a few moments until they had managed to loosen Youngjae's hug and pull Daehyun away, immediately cuffing his hands behind his back, as if he actually stood a chance against them. After hesitating for another moment, the soldiers cuffed Youngjae's hands as well, who gritted his teeth but didn't bother to spare them another glance. Instead, his eyes were fixed on Daehyun.

They were dragged towards the planes the soldiers had come with. From what Daehyun could see, all of them were made for two people, with two of them having one free seat each left. The soldiers forced them to sit on one of those seats and tied them in place, in addition to putting the seatbelt on. Another unnecessary safety measure in Daehyun's opinion. Their hands were already tied so they couldn't take off the seatbelts to attack the pilots or jump out of the plane, which would be extremely dangerous anyway. It was as if the additional ropes were simply meant to show them their place as captives.

The whole flight was spent in dead silence. If he hadn't been rather sure the plane wasn't on auto-pilot, the soldier might as well have been actually dead. Not even breathing sounds other than Daehyun's could be heard.

He swallowed nervously when the plane was nearing the island Youngjae and he had escaped just the previous day. The queen definitely wouldn't let their attempt to escape unpunished. To say he was scared was an understatement. She was already intimidating enough when she wasn't furious. What was even worse was that it seemed like Youngjae and he were going to be separated, so he would have to face the queen alone. She would eat him alive.

 

“My, what do I do with you?” The queen looked down on him and lightly tapped his cheek.

Daehyun squirmed away from her against the restraints binding him to the leather chair that had been placed a few metres in front of the throne.

“You just fall for him every time he's anywhere near you, don't you?”

He didn't dare to reply, though he didn't avert his gaze either. Instead, he focused on a point behind her. Direct eye contact would still require much more courage than he had at the moment. Her eyes were just as icy as her voice after all. While Youngjae's eyes were a warm brown, hers were a cold, very light blue and held little to no emotion.

Chuckling, she ran her finger over his cheekbone and down to his neck. “I can't decide whether I should find that adorable or pathetic.”

He shivered. As if it wouldn't be bad enough that he was tied down and completely helpless when she was in the same room, no, she couldn't even keep her hands, or rather her finger off him. Her words were also making him anxious. He remembered too well how the last encounter with the queen had affected him.

“You think I'm going to say something to make you distrust Youngjae again, don't you?” She smirked.

Daehyun again didn't answer but the way his facial muscles contracted gave him away.

Now her hand was in his hair, playing with a few strands. “I'm just trying to open your eyes. Youngjae and you won't have a happy-end but you're refusing to see that.”

Daehyun glared at her for a moment but looked away quickly. “That's what you say.” he mumbled, barely loud enough for her to understand.

Raising her eyebrows, the queen slightly tugged at his hair. “You see Youngjae through rose-coloured glasses, don't you?” She chuckled. “The noble prince who did his best to save you but failed because of an unfortunate coincidence. Interesting how things always end up like this, even though he wants the best for you, isn't it?”

If his hands weren't tied, he would have covered his ears. He didn't want to hear any of her poisonous words. Why was he even so weak when it came to what she said about Youngjae? Shouldn't he unconditionally trust the other? Every time he thought he did that trust got literally destroyed by a few words.

“You know, if we actually would've had to search for the two of you, we wouldn't have found you that soon. It would've taken us a few days.” Her hand left his hair and instead came to rest on his shoulder. “And that software that caused the plane to crash? Youngjae knows every single detail about our security system. Everyone who didn't come to Sublamaro as a prisoner does.”

Daehyun could already tell where this was going. Of course Youngjae had planned everything, including them being caught again to… Well, to do what exactly? “What's the point in doing something like this?” he asked quietly. Actually, he didn't want to know.

“I suppose to realize one of his little… fantasies?” She examined his reaction closely to see whether she struck a nerve. “Seems like I was right.” The corners of her mouth curled up but that only made her look scarier.

“But all that effort just for...” Just for one night? That didn't make much sense. He wouldn't have to fake an escape just to sleep with Daehyun. Either he could have made use of Daehyun's current emotional vulnerability, as Daehyun wasn't sure he would have refused the other if he had come to him without simply to sleep with him, or they could have escaped successfully, which would have resulted in them being able to do whatever, whenever and wherever they wanted to do. Besides, while he had been suspicious when Youngjae had suddenly seemed a little too prepared for their situation, his embarrassment had been genuine, from what Daehyun could tell.

“He tends to be a little dramatic sometimes. Well, I don't have to tell you that.” She shrugged and finally stepped back a little. “I'll leave this to your judgement.”

Daehyun gritted his teeth. Her tactic wouldn't work this time. As he had already been suspicious, he had paid close attention to the other's behaviour and hadn't found anything that would confirm what the queen had said indirectly. Also, despite everything, Youngjae would always be more trustworthy than his mother.

The queen frowned a little, sensing that her words didn't have the desired effect. Served her right. She didn't have as much power over him as she thought after all. “Get the doctor.” she ordered one of the guards standing by the door.

“Huh?” Confused, he made eye contact with her for the first time. Why would she need a doctor right now?

“We need to make sure our little angel is fine, don't we?” She smirked and gave his stomach a meaningful look. “We can't have it taken damage during your short… trip.”

Daehyun gulped. This would be the first time he was examined after the day he had arrived in Sublamaro. To say he wasn't curious wouldn't exactly be true. He was in the 7th week of his pregnancy already. Since he knew nothing about pregnancy in general and definitely nothing about male pregnancy, he wasn't sure how his body had changed so far and how much the embryo had grown. It couldn't be that big anyway, otherwise he would have at least a slight baby belly.

It only took a few minutes until the doctor arrived. He had probably been informed in advance and had waited in the palace already. “Your Highness.” He bowed deeply, not daring to meet the queen's eyes. If Daehyun wasn't so nervous, he would have found it amusing that the doctor seemed to be scared of the queen to the same extent he had been scared when he had first met her. By now, he still wouldn't risk making her angry or anything but he had come to find her a lot less scary than before. Basically she was still a monster to him but not an invincible one any more.

The queen waved her hand at the guard that had brought the doctor in. “We need the couch.”

The guard quickly brought some sort of metal frame with a thin mattress on top of it, similar to what they usually had at the doctor's offices. The only difference were the cuffs that would tie both his wrists and ankles to the frame.

Daehyun didn't even try fighting the guard when he was released from the chair and pulled towards the bed-like furniture. He let himself be cuffed obediently, not wanting to make the others angry with those instruments he had already seen when the doctor had first examined him anywhere near him. At least the doctor left these specific instruments inside of his bag.

The thing the doctor pulled out after a few moments of searching through his bag looked like a mix of a magnifying glass and the thing he had used to confirm Daehyun's pregnancy. “This is an ultrasonic device paired with a microscope. The embryo should have the size of a blueberry by now.” he explained to the queen rather than to Daehyun. “I'll just briefly see whether the embryo is healthy and then check Daehyun's health.”

The queen didn't really seem to care what he was going to do as long as he did it quickly. She simply waved his hand at him in approval and sat down on her throne.

Since Daehyun was lying down he couldn't see her any more when she sat down but he still felt her eyes on him. He shivered a little when the doctor pushed his shirt up. He hadn't been given time to change so his clothes were still slightly sticky, a little stiff and his skin was itching. As long as his pants stayed on… Anyway, he definitely needed a shower. The device was cold as it was pressed against his abdomen. It reminded him a lot of his first day in Sublamaro, with the difference being that he had felt safe and not like a caged animal that had been forced to the veterinarian by his owner. After a few moments of bleeping noises, he could see an image forming on the magnifying glass, as if it was a screen.

The doctor removed the device from Daehyun's body and shielded it with his hand so he could see the image more clearly.

Once more, Daehyun wished he knew how the technology in Sublamaro worked but then again, he probably wouldn't understand a single word. He had always been terribly bad at physics and IT. That didn’t diminish his interest in those things though.

The doctor nodded, seemingly satisfied with what he saw. “It looks just the way it should, which also means that there weren’t any problems with the body forming a womb and providing the embryo with the necessary nutritions.” He put the device back into his bag. The next few things he pulled out and did were almost the same as the things human doctors did at regular check-ups. Blood pressure, heartbeat, lung functions…

Daehyun felt weirdly out of place when the doctor asked him to breath in and out deeply, even though this procedure should have felt familiar. What made the situation awkward was that Sublamaro, the people and generally everything that had to do with his pregnancy and Youngjae had been out of the world he had known so far, everything had been strange, somewhat supernatural and impossible for him to grasp but this was almost normal, except that normally doctors didn’t cuff their patients.

“As far as I can tell, he’s perfectly fine. I’ll still examine some of his blood though, just to make sure he’s got all the vitamins and minerals he needs.” The doctor stuck a thick needle into Daehyun's arm that was connected with a tube, ignoring Daehyun's pained wince.

Daehyun had always disliked needles and blood sampling. Some things really never changed.

“I’ll have the results in a few days.”

“Tomorrow.” the queen ordered with a smug voice.

“Tomorrow then.” The doctor nodded obediently. He simply wiped away the little blood that seeped out from the wound where he had stuck the needle, then packed all of his belongings and hurried away.

The queen stood up and walked towards Daehyun, stopping right by his side. “Looks like you didn’t take any damage, that’s good.” She looked down at him smiling arrogantly. “Even more importantly, the child is fine.”

“Great.” he scoffed. What a caring person she was after all. She cared so much about anything that was part of her plan and about nothing else.

“Isn’t it?” Her smile grew wider but not the slightest bit nicer. “The next check-up will be in six weeks. Since you’re not too far into the pregnancy yet, the check-ups don’t need to happen as frequently. Though next time, you’ll probably already look pregnant.” Her hand briefly touched his abdomen, then she finally pulled his shirt down and turned to the guards. “Bring him back to his home, our sweetie here desperately needs a shower. I’ll meanwhile have to attend another appointment.”


	33. Chapter 32

“You really surprised me this time.” His mother walked up and down in front of him.

Glaring at her, he fought against the chains that bound him to the wall, cuffing his hands above his head. He had been brought to the dungeons directly when they had landed, separated from Daehyun.

“I wouldn't have thought you’d be stupid enough to use the planes. Did you really think we didn’t take any countermeasures after you escaped using one when you ran away.”

Youngjae scoffed. “Well, usually you don’t really do anything useful except abusing your power. Besides, even with this new software, you couldn’t have known where we were but it seemed like the soldiers knew exactly where we were. They didn’t even search the forest.” He furrowed his brows. That was still bugging him. Of course, if the plane had contained a tracking device, they would have known where it had sunk, so it would be rather easy to find out which island was reachable by swimming but first, the island couldn’t be found on maps and second, that didn’t explain how they had known that they had hidden in the forest.

“Oh that.” Amusedly, almost excitedly about revealing her “master plan” like the villain in a cheap superhero film, she stood right in front of him and placed her hands on her hips. “You know, it’s almost too simple.” She slightly tugged on his collars, then slipped her fingers underneath and removed something from the inside of it. “Since I know you like to run away,” she held the small thing up between two fingers. “I bugged you. Luckily these things are waterproof.”

Youngjae mentally cursed himself for not considering this possibility. It really was an extremely simple method but definitely very effective. Of course all of his clothes had been prepared by the maids who were as loyal to the queen as employees could possibly be. He _should_ have been suspicious but the hectic schedules and worries concerning Daehyun had distracted him.

“Anyway,” she dropped the bug and stepped on it. “you’ve been a very disobedient son, once again, so I’ll need to punish you.”

Youngjae gritted his teeth. His mother had always been a fan of corporal punishments and that he had been brought to the dungeons confirmed his thoughts. Needless to say, he didn’t like this kind of punishment at all. He had been yelled at or locked away for a few weeks as a punishment before but nothing was worse than being whipped or beaten.

“First of all, you won’t be seeing Daehyun for a while. I suppose it will be much longer than the time spans before you ran away.”

That was expected. While it definitely was a harsh punishment both for Daehyun and him since they depended on each other, he hoped they wouldn't suffer too much with their bond having almost been completely restored. He had waited a while for her, which probably meant that she had been with Daehyun before coming down to the dungeons. She couldn’t have hurt him physically because she wouldn't risk the babies health, so she must have tried to hurt him with words. If that were successful, he would have noticed. He had always noticed even slight changes in Daehyun's trust, all of his inner conflicts but now, he didn’t feel any different than when they had been separated. Well, except being somewhat scared of what his mother had in store for him.

“Secondly, your schedules for the next few weeks are cancelled.” She smiled.

That hardly sounded like a punishment but the underlying message was that he wouldn't be able to attend any schedules for the next few weeks, either because he was going to stay in this dungeon or because he was going to be hurt so bad that he wouldn't been able to leave his bed. He didn’t know which was more preferable.

“Third… I’ll leave that to my dear executioner.” She smiled even wider when Youngjae’s eyes widened a bit at that. “He’ll make sure to take _extra_ good care of you.”

The executioner usually handled the death penalties but it was no secret that she took great pleasure in torturing prisoners. Apparently, most prisoners begged for death after a few days. That was already sounding great. Hopefully she would go a little bit more easy on him, considering that his mother wished to teach him a lesson but not to torture him to insanity.

“Maybe try to keep at least some of your dignity during your stay. Remember, a prince isn’t supposed to be as weak as mere prisoners.” She patted his cheek almost affectionately. “After all, you’re my son and not some worthless low-life.”

If Youngjae hadn’t already been in a less than favourable situation, he might have spit into her face or headbutted her. He had always hated people who considered themselves to be more worthy than others, simply because they had been fortunate enough to be born into a certain family or species, despite that mindset being extremely common for the people he had grown up with.

“Your Highness.” The executioner, dressed in black leather from had to toe had just entered and positioned herself a few steps behind the queen, folding her arms in front of her chest. Others would have had to bow and stay in their crouched position until the queen had at least turned around to see that they actually were bowing. However, the executioner was special. While she was younger than the queen, they had spent many of their younger years together and were rumoured to still be good friends, which only made sense since they both liked hurting others. Youngjae had once seen one of his mother’s toys and she definitely hadn’t been very gentle with him.

The queen’s lips curled up in a sincere smile, at least in comparison to the usual smiles. “It’s good to see you.” She turned around and nodded her head at the other woman.

Leaning forward a little, the executioner let her eyes wander over Youngjae. She was as intimidating as his mother, just that his mother didn’t wear a belt equipped with several knives, a whip and some things he couldn't identify. “Oh my, you’ve grown up so much.” she squealed, though that somehow made her even scarier. “When I last saw you, you barely reached my hip.”

To be honest, Youngjae didn’t remember having met her before. He had seen her performing an execution but he had been older, definitely taller and she couldn't have seen him.

“You’re sure I can have him?” she asked excitedly, like a child who had been promised her favourite treat.

The queen nodded. “For the next few weeks. How long exactly will depend on his condition, I can’t have him dying.”

“Of course.” The executioner chuckled. “I’ll be extra careful so I can have him for a long time.” Grinning, she stepped forward and caressed Youngjae's cheek. “And I’ll spare his face.”

“It would be a waste.” the queen agreed. Then she turned back to Youngjae. “I’ll have to go now, take care, _son_.”

Youngjae gulped when the door slammed shut behind his mother. His next weeks would be full of pain, that was out of question. The only thing that he wasn’t sure of were the methods the executioner would want to use on him and he couldn't decide whether it would be better to know or not to.

Grabbing his chin, she turned his head left and right. “You’re such a beautiful kid.” she stated. “I dare say your proportions are perfect.”

He resisted the urge to respond. Better not provoke her. He was already in enough trouble. The only consolation was that at least his mother hadn’t been able to confuse Daehyun again, although this still could happen during the weeks he wasn’t allowed to meet the other.

“How should I start then?” She ran her fingers over her belt. “With something light, I suppose.” Looking down, she first reached for a small knife but then grabbed the whip instead, smirking at the way his eyes widened in fear. “You’ve only been whipped once before, am I right?”

Youngjae nodded slowly. That one time had been bad enough. He had only been 12 years old, so the man who had been given the task to punish him for continuously skipping his classes had gone rather easy on him but he was certain the executioner would do the same.

“Should have been a lot more, at least according to what your mother told me when you were younger.” Chuckling, she unrolled the whip. “We’ll have to make sure to catch up on these… valuable experiences then.”

Youngjae’s muscles tensed involuntarily when the executioner grabbed his shirt and ripped it off, then threw it away.

“I’ll give you a choice.” She lifted his chin with the whip’s handle. “Back or front?”

Youngjae frowned momentarily but was quick to control his facial expression again. Back or front… While both would be painful, he figured the skin on his stomach was more sensitive and she wouldn’t only be hitting skin but organs as well. “Back.” he mumbled.

“Good choice.” Humming, she walked towards the opposite wall were the console controlling the chains was and pushed a few buttons.

He felt himself being lifted up so that he was tiptoeing and being turned around by his wrists. When he was facing the wall, the chains lowered themselves a little so he was standing on the ground again. He balled his hands into fists and gritted his teeth when he heard the executioner coming closer. A whizzing noise signalled the first whiplash. Despite biting down on his own teeth as hard as he could, a muffled scream escaped his mouth when the whip cut through his skin.

“Count them. I’ll start with ten lashes.” the executioner ordered, in an almost gentle tone. When he didn’t say anything, she pressed one finger of her free hand against the cut, making him hiss in pain. “You know, if you don’t help me counting, I won’t know when to stop.”

“One.” he basically whispered, mentally already preparing himself for the next lashes.

“Good boy.” she cooed and gently stroked his hair. “Next time, say it a bit louder, yes?” She raised her arm for the next hit.

“Two.” Youngjae said almost simultaneously when the whip met with his back, the word ending in a pained scream.

“Much better. Sing more for me.” The next three lashes came quickly after each other, each hurting a bit more as they overlapped and cut deeper than the previous ones.

“Five.” he gasped breathlessly. He was covered with a thin layer of sweat already and his back felt like it was on fire.

“We’re already through the first half.” The executioner back-hugged him, her leather clothing pressed against the wounds, making them sting even more, especially where the belt dug into his skin. “Painful, isn’t it?” Her tone was gentle, as if she was comforting him. It was obvious though that she was enjoying herself a lot. She chuckled when he nodded. “That’s good. It wouldn't be a punishment if it didn’t. Shall we continue?”

He would have preferred to shake his head no but since she would continue anyway, it was better to get it over with as quick as possible. Although that she would give him a break afterwards was probably too much to wish for. “Yes.” he mumbled, barely audible. He suddenly felt incredibly tired.

“Better brace yourself then.”

The next hit threw him off his feet. She had managed to hit him just where the first whiplash had cut his skin open, making the cut even deeper. It felt as if she had hit him right into his spine. The pain shot up his entire back and down to his legs, which were wobbly and unable to stand back up. He hung there by his wrists, trying to catch his breath but the pain didn’t subside.

“You’ve forgotten to count, little prince.” the executioner cooed.

“S- Si-” Youngjae stuttered, finding himself being unable to form any words. It was as if the pain was blocking all the nerve connections between his brain and tongue.

“Yes?” She leaned closer, resting her mouth directly next to his ear. “I can’t hear you.”

“S- Six.” he managed to say after a few moments of struggling against whatever was paralysing his tongue.

“Only four more to go then.” She rubbed the back of his neck in a soothing manner. He was too weak to turn his head and check but she was surely smiling evilly. “Remember, if you don’t count I’ll be confused and have to start anew.”

The next lash made him black out momentarily. Again, she had aimed at the first cut, which must be at least a few millimetres deep by now. “Se-” He didn’t manage to say any more than that. The rest of what was supposed to be “ven” was an incoherent mess of letters that weren’t even part of the “seven” he had wanted to say and pained whimpers.

The executioner waited a few minutes. When she saw he was unable to finish even this short word, she let out an amused laugh. “One would think I cut out your tongue instead of giving you a nice whipping.” She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and grabbed his chin, forcing him to meet her piercing gaze with his own feverish one. “My, you really don’t take this very well. Were you always this weak?” She smiled fake-apologetically. “Seems like I forgot at which number we were. Let’s start again.”

Youngjae let out a weak groan. He was already struggling to keep his eyes open. In addition to his cut-open back, it felt as if his wrists were going to tear off, as he was solely kept upright by his wrists. Raising himself up a little by grabbing the chains, he tried to get back onto his feet but failed miserably.

“Your body’s not working as it should, isn’t it?” She chuckled and half-heartedly kicked his leg.

Though it wasn’t with much strength, it was enough to make him hiss in pain. His weakened body responded even more to the pain. If this continued, he doubted that he would be able to stay conscious for long.

“Try to not stop counting this time, yes?” She laughed softly at his continued but failed attempts to stand up, somewhat similarly to a mother amused by her child that was trying to take its first steps. “Maybe you should save your strength for counting, seems to me that would be more important for now.”

It might be, as she wouldn’t stop until he had successfully counted to ten but the pain in his arms and shoulders wasn’t easy to bear either. When the whip met with his damaged skin, he screamed at the top of his lungs. Unlike the previous ones, the lash didn’t knock out every little bit of his leftover strength. It felt as if his back was being torn apart. On the plus-side, it had woken him up quite a bit, so he was a little bit more positive that he would be able to finish the counting this time, although he still doubted it. “One.” he gasped, “Two.” and “Three.” followed quickly. Despite not tiring him as much as the previous ones for whatever reason, that didn’t mean these hits didn’t hurt or put great stress on his body.

“You’re doing quite well suddenly.” The executioner walked in front of him and raised her eyebrows. “Any specific reasons?”

Youngjae shrugged as good as he could in his position. Of course he didn’t know for sure and neither he knew how this would work if it was indeed the case but there was the familiar warm feeling in his chest he usually had when he was close to Daehyun. Indeed, he had thought of Daehyun for a short moment when he had seen her raise her arm again in the corner of his eye. It would be news for him that a mere thought could have this effect. Then again, people could be cured with placebos, so why not? He doubted though that this effect would last long. After all the bond was a source of strength, not one of invincibility.

“Okay then.” The executioner mimicked his weak shrug. “Maybe you’ll be able to get through this then.” Without warning, she whipped him again.

“Four.” he pressed through gritted teeth. By this time his whole back must be covered in blood. Either she would torture him until he lost his consciousness from that or he would faint from blood loss. Maybe the latter would be the better option. He had some painful weeks ahead of him anyway so it would be better to have the days be as short as possible. Again the lash came unpredicted. “Five.” he gasped, his vision becoming slightly blurry. Apparently his body would give up much sooner than he thought. At least the torture wasn’t as psychologically challenging as before.

“Only five more to go. This is about the number at which you started struggling at your first try, isn’t it?” She walked around him and breathed a kiss onto his cheek. “What do you think, will you make it this time?”

Youngjae was breathing heavily as he shook his head weakly. A few minutes ago he might have nodded but he could feel his blood seeping out of his wounds, his back becoming more and more numb, which at least lessened the pain a bit.

“That’s a pity. I had high hopes, you know. The royal family is supposed to be much stronger than everyone else after all but maybe your connection to that _human_ ” Her voice was full of disgust “has weakened you.”

He scoffed. If only she knew that the bond he shared with Daehyun actually made him a lot stronger. Well, he wouldn’t be telling her. Who cared what she thought about Daehyun. She wasn’t allowed to touch him anyway, not as long as he he was carrying his child. What would happen to them if he failed to get them out of Sublamaro before Daehyun gave birth was something he didn’t want to even consider.

“Whatever.” The executioner raised her arm. “Let’s end this fast then. We have plenty of time to strengthen you left.”

Youngjae screamed when the whip cut open his chest and stomach. “Fuck!” All air was pressed out of his lungs and his vision blurred to the point he couldn't even make out the satisfied smirk on the executioner’s face anymore.

“We’ll continue tomorrow.” She ruffled his hair and stepped away as he felt his consciousness slip away.

 

 

 


	34. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait >.< I had some problems with my USB stick so I wasn't able to access the story. Also uni and work got me very busy but I'll do my best to update as fast as I can :(

He wasn’t sure whether it had been weeks or months that had passed since they had been brought back to Sublamaro. He hadn’t been allowed to see the other, not even for a single minute. The closest they had been was with the front door separating them, each leaning against it to be as close to the other as possible. These kind of meetings had happened irregularly but often enough to make sure they didn’t grow apart completely, though he still wasn’t sure why the queen wanted to keep their bond at all when she had tried to destroy it more than once. Maybe it would be dangerous for the child or whatever. All that mattered was the other, the hope they would be free again someday. They and… He rested his right hand on top of his stomach. It was starting to become more and more round, as if he had swallowed a ball that was inflating slowly. Surely he was already past the time where he had thought it to be okay to abort the child. He could tell by his growing baby belly that it was growing very well. Sometimes, he even felt weak movements, though he didn’t know whether it might be too early for that and the movements were just his imagination. If Lia had come to visit or take care of him recently, he would have asked her about how pregnancies usually went and if they were any different for non-human children. Hell, hopefully it wouldn’t start feeding on him or something.

Daehyun flinched when the door opened. He hadn’t noticed how much time had already passed. To be honest, he had lost his sense of time many weeks ago.

“Good evening _Mr. Jung_.”

He hated how they talked to him. They didn’t even bother to hide their contempt with that fake-politeness. Instead, they used it to show him what they thought of him. According to both Lia and Youngjae, they were considered married, so the proper way address him would be “Mr. Yoo”, if they were allowed to talk to him at all, after all he was the prince’s partner. However, by continuing to use his birth name, they made it very obvious that they didn’t and would never consider him part of their race or the royal family. To them, he was an outsider, a mere human despite everything. His status as Youngjae's partner was supposed to be only temporary. “I’m not hungry.” he mumbled, just as he always did whenever they came.

“Is that so?” One of the men grabbed him by his arm, dragged him towards the table, placed him on one of the chairs and stood behind him to grab his chin, also just as he always did. If Daehyun refused to eat, which he always did, they would force him.

 _You need food for two right now, not eating is a no-no._ they had explained to him when they had come the first time, as if he was no more than a stubborn child.

“Ah-” The second man opened his own mouth as if to show Daehyun what he was supposed to do and held up a spoon of the unidentifiable substance they always fed him with. Apparently it was highly-nutritious, containing everything he and the child needed. The taste wasn’t too bad but not very tasty either, especially if that was the only thing one got to eat. Anyone would start refusing it after a while.

The other grabbed his chin tighter and forced his mouth open.

Daehyun coughed and grimaced when the spoon was shoved into his mouth, the sweet substance filling his mouth. Unwillingly, he swallowed, his mouth still forced open. The first few times, he had waited until they let go of him and spit it out but soon they instead forced him to close his mouth again and covered his nose as well so he couldn’t breath until they let him, which they only did when he had swallowed. It didn’t take long for him to realize that resisting them was futile. By now, his refusal to eat was more of a symbolic thing, not him actually thinking that he wouldn't have to eat despite not being hungry. The others didn’t care whether he felt sick after his meal, unless he wasn’t able to keep the food inside of him. Then, they would feed him again, as many times as necessary.

“Good boy.” the man behind him cooed, making him roll his eyes.

They fed him the whole bowl. The moment they let go of him he rolled of the chair and walked towards the bathroom, still gasping for air. Making sure he ate was only one of many tasks to them, a task which they wanted to complete as fast as possible, so they barely gave him enough time to breath in between each spoon. It was a very humiliating practice but giving in would also mean giving up. He splashed his face with cold water, both cleaning himself and trying to clear his mind. When he walked back into the main room, he was surprised to find the men still there. “What?” he snapped when their eyes followed him on his way to his bed.

“We’re not done yet.” The man pointed at the front door. “Medical check-up.”

Daehyun frowned. Normally the doctor would come to him, not vice versa. Maybe they didn’t think he was in the condition to escape. On the other hand, if he wasn’t in the condition to escape, his condition might not be good enough to take a walk either, after all he had lost some of his agility since his belly had started to grow and they would never risk the baby’s health.

“Hurry up.” one of the men growled, throwing a pair of shoes and a heavy coat at him.

Daehyun dodged the shoes and caught the coat. It was heavier than anything he had ever worn before but otherwise, it definitely seemed like a rain coat. Probably expensive rain coats were just heavier than the worn out ones he usually wore. With an annoyed huff, he wore the coat and slipped into the shoes. Both fit him almost perfectly.

“Let’s go.” the man grumbled and grabbed him by his arm.

It was raining heavily. Daehyun put on the hood and pulled it farther down into his face to shield himself from the harsh weather. He wondered how they managed to actually have different climates in Sublamaro but the other men weren’t going to explain to him anyway so he didn’t bother asking.

After a five minute walk they arrived at the hospital-like building. He hadn’t even remembered that the house was this close to the hospital.

“What took you so long?” The doctor seemed a bit annoyed when they entered. “You were supposed to bring him ten minutes ago.”

“You’re not the only busy person on this earth.” one of the men grumbled and shoved Daehyun into the room. The two men tried to walk into the room as well to stand in front of the door but the doctor shoved them back.

“If you’re so busy then go do whatever you have to do somewhere else.” he grumbled. “You’re distracting me from my work.” They usually waited outside when the doctor came to Daehyun's house. “I’ll call you once I’m done.”

“We-” one of them tried to protest but was silenced by the other, who made a gesture that someone seemed like he was telling the other to drink something. Daehyun had noticed before that they sometimes smelled strongly of alcohol. Maybe that was the only joy a guard had in Sublamaro. “Alright then.” he nodded. “We’ll have to lock the door though. Can’t take any risks.”

“Of course.” the doctor nodded. “I have the emergency codes any way if I need to get out.” He ordered Daehyun to take off his coat, ignoring how the men walked out and locked the door behind them. “Lay on the bed.”

Daehyun obeyed. There was no reason not to listen to the doctor. Even if he might not be as strong as the other men, Daehyun was locked inside here and the doctor still had many of his scary instruments he had never used so far on Daehyun. Besides, he felt oddly comfortable in this room, a lot more comfortable than in his house. Suspiciously he looked around, his eyes lying a bit longer on something that seemed like bed, completely hidden by a curtain. Had it already been there when he had arrived in Sublamaro?

“How have you been feeling recently?” He pushed Daehyun's shirt up and gently started to feel his belly. “Nausea? Migraine?”

Daehyun shook his head. “I’m just not hungry.”

“Huh.” The doctor nodded absent-mindedly and pulled out the device he always used to take a picture of the baby. “It seems to be growing a lot faster than the average human baby but that’s normal.” He nodded again after making some adjustments to the device and starting the scan. “It’s hard to predict how fast a half-human baby will grow as this depends on a variety of factors.”

“For example?” Daehyun tried to breath in and out steadily, ignoring his nervousness when the other’s hand moved around only a few centimetres above his belly.

“Parents’ age, physical condition of the mo- human parent, strength of the non-human, the bond… Actually, with how seldom you two meet, it’s very surprising the baby is growing this well.”

Daehyun shrugged. It wasn’t like he was able to influence the pregnancy running, or whatever would happen after he would give birth anyway. That was also why the doctor usually didn’t say anything when he examined him. He probably reported to the queen afterwards.

The doctor hummed and put the device aside. “I’ll have to go get something. Wait here.” he chuckled.

“Where would I be going?” Daehyun rolled his eyes but remained as he was on the bed when the doctor left for the adjoining room, though he pulled his shirt down.

“You could come over to me.”

Daehyun flinched, both because he had thought himself to be alone and because it was _his_ voice. Carefully, he lifted himself and walked over to the bed in the corner. “Youngjae?” It was barely a whisper. Pushing the curtains aside, he looked down on what was an extremely sick and weak Youngjae. Daehyun gasped audibly.

“Looks bad, doesn’t it?” Youngjae chuckled and motioned him to come sit beside him with a bandaged hand.

“What happened?” Daehyun brushed his finger over a bruise on the other’s cheek, careful not to hurt him. He had never noticed that the other was unwell, even when they had been somewhat close with only the door separating this but maybe that was simply out of limit for the bond.

“Nothing much.” Youngjae shrugged. “Had a rather unpleasant meeting with my mother’s best friend, that’s all.” Smiling softly, he returned the other’s gentle touch. “I missed you. The few minutes they allowed us weren’t anywhere near enough.”

“I missed you too.” Daehyun intertwined their fingers, avoiding the other’s eyes. While he had wanted to meet with Youngjae, he hated seeing him in this state. Beaten down, hurt… somewhat broken. Well, maybe not broken but at least slightly cracked. He did his best to conceal it but Daehyun could still tell easily. “I’m sorry I couldn't be there for you.” Whatever the other had gone through, suddenly Daehyun felt guilty for not being able to help Youngjae, even though it hadn’t been his choice anyway.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll be fine in a few days or so. The doctor patched me up quite well and our kind heals a bit faster than humans, so...” Youngjae shrugged once again.

“Did that person hurt you badly?” Daehyun actually didn’t even want to know. Probably that was the queen’s usual way of punishing disobedient children. He only hoped that Youngjae hadn’t been treated that way when he was a child.

“Well… I managed somehow.” Youngjae paused for a moment. “On good days I’d faint somewhen. It was worse when she forced me to stay conscious.” He grimaced. “Anyway, I survived and I will heal, so that’s that. Enough talking about me. How have you been?”

“Fine, I guess.” Daehyun sighed. “I haven’t really been hungry in a while but other than that...”

“I meant the things you didn’t tell to the doctor.” Youngjae chuckled and squeezed Daehyun's hand.

Daehyun let out a soft “Oh”. Of course, Youngjae had been inside of the room the whole time. “I… Most of all I’m a bit confused about basically everything. And I’m worried about the future.” He lead the other’s hand to lie onto his stomach, looking straight into the other’s eyes. “What will happen to us, Youngjae?”

“I don’t know.” he answered honestly. “I’ll be under strict watch for the next time, not sure how long. Maybe only for one or two weeks, maybe, or rather more likely until after you’ve given birth.” He pressed his lips into a thin line. “I’m sorry for not being able to do more.”

“It’s okay.” Daehyun leaned forward to give the other a gentle kiss. Before their failed escape, he probably would have blamed Youngjae for everything, called him a liar or whatever but since their return, it felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his mind, freeing him from all negative judgements. “It’s not your fault. We’ll get through this, somehow.”

“What about the child?” Youngjae asked, seemingly hesitant to address this topic. “Will you be okay with… um...”

“I think I’ve gotten used to the thought of it. It’s only been us two for the past time, so...” Daehyun shrugged. “I’m not saying I’ve grown attached or anything but I don’t hate it. Besides, it’s too late to have an abortion anyway.”

The other nodded slowly. “That’s good, I suppose. I’ve asked the doctor before you came and he thinks you’ll be due in two or three months.”

“Already?” Daehyun furrowed his brows. “It hasn’t been six months yet, has it?”

Youngjae shook his head. “No but our kind progressively grows faster the older the baby is. There are other factors that influence the growth as well, as the doctor said. The pregnancy rarely lasts a full nine months.”

“That’s a lot faster than I expected.” he admitted, biting on the nail of his thumb nervously. “I… How does giving birth work anyway, I mean… for me?” Until now, he hadn’t spared a thought on this but with the end of his pregnancy being in near future… A baby’s head would definitely be a lot bigger than a fist and that had already almost killed him.

“About that… Male births are always quite complicated. In the last stages of your pregnancy, you’ll have to go through daily check-ups, take medicines… Depending on whether your body adapts well enough, the doctor will decide whether a caesarean section will be necessary.”

“But usually everything goes well, doesn’t it?” He sighed in relief when the other nodded. “I guess I won’t have to worry then, at least not about what happens _before_ birth.”

Youngjae frowned. “I suppose my mother is already looking for nannies. She never even considered raising her own children, she definitely won’t let us do that, especially since she’ll want to sort of erase the _human half_.”

“Is there no way we can convince her to let us raise the child? If we ever find a way to escape, we can’t let it here. It would be easier if...”

“Not sure.” Youngjae pulled Daehyun a bit closer by his arm and let his own head rest against the other’s shoulder. “I might be able to convince the nanny to work with us, depending on whom she chooses.”

Sighing, Daehyun ran his hand through Youngjae’s hair. “Don’t strain yourself. Rest first, take your time to heal. Then we’ll think about what we can do.”

“Right. We still have some time left after all.” He turned to take a look at the clock hanging on the wall. “We should call the doctor. It’s already been quite long. Can’t risk the guards becoming suspicious.”

“So he still is somewhat loyal to you after all.” Daehyun smiled a little. It was a comforting thought that they weren’t as alone as he had thought.

“My mother scared him quite a lot.” Youngjae grimaced. “He’s willing to help us meet as long as it doesn’t put him in danger.”

“A survivor, huh.”

“That’s what it takes when you’re close to our family.” His face momentarily took on a pained expression before going back to tired. “Living in Sublamaro is like living among snakes and wolves. Everyone wants to kill you but some are a bit more upfront about it.”

“I noticed.” Daehyun kissed the other’s hair. With a grin, he added: “It’s not too different from highschool.”, making Youngjae laugh softly.

“Indeed.” Still smiling, Youngjae pressed onto a button next to his bed to call back the doctor.


	35. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long, I'm sorry T.T On top of being busy I had no idea how to continue this story.. This chapter is the result of overthinking that lead to a very spontaneous idea, just like 90% of this story ^^'

“Your majesty! You need to wake up!”

“Huh?” Still half asleep, he tried to push away the hand that was shaking him awake. “What’s going on? Did I oversleep?”

“It’s an emergency. We’re being under attack.” The maid kept looking over her shoulder while Youngjae sat himself up.

“Who?” Youngjae rubbed his eyes. It wasn’t the first time someone attacked the palace. A few times the _Independents,_ a group living in the outer districts of Sublamaro had attacked them, in order to establish a democracy, or whatever they thought to be the best system at the moment. Other times, powerful families tried to overrule them. Nothing too uncommon.

“We don’t know yet. At first we need everyone to get out here. They’re setting everything on fire.”

“The palace?” Youngjae frowned. That was unusual. Usually whoever attacked planned on ruling anytime soon, so they only tried to get in the palace but not to destroy it. “Why would they do that?”

“Not just the palace, your majesty.” The maid pressed her lips into a thin line. “We’re evacuating. Everyone will be moved to Enla Montoj.”

Youngjae was out of bed within less than a few seconds, grabbing his coat. “How much time left?” Suddenly he felt completely awake. Smaller fires weren’t a problem but if the fire spread over the whole city, not only would the smoke make breathing nearly impossible as their ventilation system wouldn’t be able to handle that but also the temperatures would rise unbearably. Cons of living in a cave under the sea.

“I’m not sure. Not much.” The maid nervously chewed on her lips.

Youngjae nodded. “I know what I have to do. Get on the plane.”

“Thank you.” She immediately ran out.

Youngjae calmed himself by forcing himself to breathe steadily. They had gone through the plans countless times. He knew exactly where to go, which route to take, how much time he approximately had. They were prepared for this kind of incident, though the people who had built Sublamaro probably had never thought it would happen for real. They had thought of it as a mere safety measure.

Youngjae didn’t take much time to reach the checkpoint outside of the palace. After typing in his code to let the remaining guards know he had left the palace so that they were allowed to leave as well, he made his way to the airport, using the emergency route. He was already halfway there when it hit him. What about Daehyun? At the checkpoint, there had been a map, showing which streets were unusable, which districts were on fire already. Daehyun’s house was quite near where the fire had started and he wasn’t part of the emergency plan. What if the guards had forgotten him? It wasn’t even unlikely. He immediately spun around to run back, in the direction Daehyun's house. If he arrived there and Daehyun had already been brought somewhere safe, that would be good. If he still was there and Youngjae only noticed when he was inside of the plane, it might already be too late.

The further he ran, the hotter he noticed it became. It didn’t take long until he reached parts of Sublamaro that already were on fire. He ignored the smoke and heat as much as he could, despite already being drenched in sweat. By the time he reached Daehyun's house, he had slight trouble breathing, even though his kind wasn’t as sensitive as humans when it came to smoke and the amount of air they needed. He would probably have to hold his breath on his way out for as long as he could, to avoid breathing in too much smoke.

“Fuck.” he hissed. The guards lay dead in front of the door, the latter being completely destroyed, probably blown up. He stormed inside, quickly scanning the house for any signs of Daehyun. He wasn’t in the living room, not in the bathroom either. Since Daehyun wasn’t in there and the guards who likely had been sent to take him to the plane had been killed, he either had been taken by whoever attacked Sublamaro or he had managed to run away. With him being quite far into his pregnancy, that was unlikely though. “That can’t be happening.” Youngjae mumbled, running his hand through his hair frantically. Whatever these people planned to do with Daehyun, it couldn’t be anything good. While the royal family had kept it a secret that there was a human carrying the royal heir in Sublamaro, it would be quite obvious that they wouldn’t keep some unimportant human in these kind of prison-houses. He left the house again and stood still, trying to pick up a sign of where they had brought Daehyun over the roaring flames. There weren’t many paths left that weren’t blocked by the fire but that didn’t mean they had taken one of these routes. As long as he didn’t know who the attacker were, they could have gone anywhere. He didn’t even know whether they planned to escape the fire somehow or whether they were willing to sacrifice themselves for whatever their aim was. Rather slowly, compared to his running earlier, he chose to walk down one street, not even knowing where it lead. Suddenly he couldn’t see or hear anything else but the fire. He didn’t feel the heat anymore though. Was it because he was scared that he wouldn't find Daehyun? That both of them would die? He couldn’t tell. It didn’t feel like the fear he was used to, though he undoubtedly was afraid. This shouldn't be how everything ended. They hadn’t gotten through this much to suffocate or burn to death.

He wandered around almost aimlessly. Sublamaro was, _had been_ his home but he didn’t even recognize these streets and now, he would never get to see them again. It felt surreal. The buildings, the road, everything was blurry.

He could only see one building clearly, the… It was a cathedral-like building, used by… “Could that be?” he mumbled to himself, squinting his eyes to make out some more details. It belonged to a sect, that no one outside of it had ever taken seriously. They believed that the only way to salvation was fire. Any death other than by fire would lead their souls to be trapped in nothingness forever. Like that made any sense. Still, this belief had lead to several people committing suicide by burning themselves and the queen had always ignored them. _This is a problem that will solve itself_ or so she liked to say. Their current leader though was a bit more radical than the previous ones. In his opinion, it was their duty to lead the way for everyone, not to only save themselves. That would explain why they set Sublamaro on fire, also risking their own life.

He walked closer, stopping right in front of the door. It wasn’t fully closed so he could see the movements inside. Of course, the members of the sect weren’t trying to leave. They must be looking forward to their death.

After taking in a deep breath, which made him cough a little, Youngjae pushed open the doors and stepped in, trying to maintain an upright posture as hot air blew into his face.

As the majority of the building was made out of bricks and thus wouldn't catch fire anytime soon, they had lit up several smaller fires and one big in the middle of the hall. For a brief moment, he thought he saw human-like outlines in the midst of it, though he quickly shook that thought off.

“Your majesty. It’s so good to see you.” A figure neared him, a crouched silhouette. When he was only a few metres away, Youngjae could make out the scarlet robe the sect members typically wore, along with a headpiece, made from copper, which marked him as the cult leader. On top of that, he wore an oxygen mask, the same kind he handed Youngjae.

Though unsure what the other wanted from him, Youngjae gladly took it. He wouldn't be able to get both him and Daehyun out of here if he breathed smoke much longer.

“I thought the royal family would be the first to have left but seeing you here… There might be hope, for all of you.” The man was sweating buckets but he didn’t seem to mind.

“What do you mean?” Youngjae squinted, trying to make out the figures that were moving around in the back.

“This way, you can come with us.” The man tried to grab Youngjae’s arm but the latter moved away. “We’ve led many of Sublamaro’s people to paradise already and we’ll gladly lead you and your partner as well.”

“Where is he?” Youngjae tried to walk past the leader but stopped right in his tracks when he realised what the other’s words meant. “You’ve burnt people?” Since choking wasn’t considered the “right death” and that was what the vast majority of those who didn’t make it to the plane would die from, they must have taken matters into their own hands. That would explain the oxygen masks as well. They had to remain alive and conscious until it was their time to step into one of the fires. “Wasn’t it enough that you destroyed everything most of us have ever known? You had to actively murder people too, in this cruel manner?” He wanted to push the man into one of the fires badly, let him taste his own medicine but until he had found Daehyun, he had to compose himself, no matter how disgusted and furious he was.

“It’s not murder.” the man argued, frowning. “We saved their souls. It is our duty to save them, even if they don’t see it yet but-”

Losing his temper, Youngjae delivered a blow into the other’s face, sending him across the floor. “I couldn't care less about you and your minions burning yourself but don’t you dare forcing your wicked beliefs on others!” he spat. “You’re not a saviour or a messiah, you’re a murderer.”

“Your mind is clouded, your majesty.” The leader stood up as if the punch had been nothing. “I don’t blame you. You and all the others have been brain-washed.”

“Says you.” Youngjae scoffed and walked further into the hall, ignoring the remaining sect members who eyed him as if he was Satan. “Where is he?” he hissed at the leader who was following him.

“We’re preparing him. You should join him, so you can go together.” The leader pointed at a door in the back.

Youngjae stormed in there without an answer, basically kicking the door open. “Daehyun!” He pushed away the sect members that were hovering over Daehyun.

The other sat on a chair, wrists cuffed together. He had been dressed in a scarlet robe, golden jewellery and an oxygen mask. Despite being drenched in sweat and very obviously scared, he looked gorgeous but Youngjae figured this wasn’t the right time to be complimenting him. “Youngjae...” His words were a little muffled because of the mask.

“It’s going to be alright.” He cupped the other’s face in his hands and soothingly stroked over his cheek with his thumb. “We’ll get out of here.”

Daehyun nodded and slowly got up, with Youngjae's help as his belly was hindering him. He yelped in surprise when Youngjae simply ripped apart the cuffs that tied his hands. They currently didn’t have the time to take them off completely.

Youngjae walked him out of the room as fast as Daehyun could walk, ignoring or pushing away the sect members that tried to stop them.

“Your majesty.” the leader welcomed them. “Are the two of you ready to-”

“If you lay one hand on him, I swear I’ll cut it off and kill you in a way that won’t send you to paradise.” Youngjae growled.

The other man remained calm. “I understand your concern but I assure you this is the only way.”

“How about you take that route alone?” he hissed and continued to walk with his arm around Daehyun's shoulders. “What did I just tell you?” he snapped when the other reached out for Daehyun and grabbed his wrist. “Burn yourself if you want but we will live.”

Daehyun’s eyes wandered between them, full of fear. While he tried not to show it, the heat was affecting him much more than it affected the rest of them. The oxygen masks bought them some time but if he didn’t get out of here soon… His body temperature had already risen beyond what was normal.

Youngjae growled when the leader and some other members blocked their way.

“I’m afraid we can’t let you go, your majesty.” They pulled out daggers, again made from copper. They must prefer this metal over others for its reddish colour. “We would be neglecting our duty by letting you go.”

“You can’t force us to stay. You’d have to kill us and that would be the _wrong way_.” Youngjae spat. He pushed Daehyun back a little, stepping in front of him, his hands balled into fists, ready to fight. He was not going to be intimidated by their number or their toys.

“Your majesty, we don’t want to hurt you but we will do everything that’s necessary.” Though the leader raised his dagger a bit, he took a step backwards. Instead, his minions walked a bit closer towards them, pointing their daggers at Youngjae. “If you would just surrender, that would spare us a lot of trouble.”

Youngjae rolled his eyes. “I won’t repeat myself. Daehyun and I won’t die in this place.” They walked towards the door slowly, Youngjae making sure Daehyun stayed behind him, out of their reach.

When they were about two metres away from the sect members, one of them leaped forward and swung his dagger at him. It was an amateurish attack. Obviously, he hadn’t been trained to fight. One quick hit onto his wrist was all it took for the dagger to hit the ground, soon followed by the man when Youngjae kicked the back of his knees.

“None of your men are able to take me down. You’re wasting my time.” Youngjae approached them again, knocking down another man in a similar manner. He could only hope that Daehyun had enough oxygen left in the tank attached to the mask. That, and that the temperature wouldn't make him collapse. “You better leave now. Go die the death you wish for, it that’s what you want. You deserve a painful death like that after all for killing all these innocent people.” The other opened his mouth but Youngjae was quick to shut him up by sweeping one of his men off his feet and throwing him at the others. “Now, if you’d excuse us.”

One swift motion and the leader landed behind Youngjae and Daehyun, near enough to the fire that he burned his right hand. He pulled his hand back with a pained yell.

“Doesn’t seem like a good way to die, does it?” Youngjae scoffed while grabbing Daehyun's had, who had flinched slightly at the man’s yell to calm him. “I’ll gladly assist you too.” he addressed the remaining sect members in front of them. As expected, they avoided his gaze and moved away when they walked towards the door. So they were scared of burning after all. He supposed they would take some pain killers when it was their turn. Likely their victims hadn’t been as lucky. Youngjae scrunched up his face in disgust.

“Youngjae?” Daehyun’s voice was almost inaudible over the roaring flames. They had grown a lot since Youngjae had entered the building. Some houses had collapsed, parts of them blocking their way. “I don’t feel so good.” Indeed, he looked quite feverish.

“Do you still have enough air?”

Daehyun nodded, clutching onto Youngjae's arm to keep himself steady.

“Good.” Youngjae quickly ran his hand through the other’s hair. “I’ll have to carry you, are you okay with that?” He didn’t know whether the planes planned in for the evacuation had all been used but he wouldn't risk running the long way towards that place only to find out all planes were gone. Instead, he wanted to use one of the military planes, very similar to the one they had used to escape the first time. He knew that the military had left them because they were too far from the palace and they had others in Enla Montoj anyway. When Daehyun nodded, he picked him up bridal style as careful as he could and began to run.

Daehyun clung onto his shirt and buried his head in the other’s shoulder. He was breathing fast but at least steadily. “Will we make it?” he mumbled, maybe more to himself than to Youngjae probably.

The other sill felt obliged to utter some comforting words, despite running out of breath already. Physical activities and extreme heat didn’t mix well. “Of course. The plane’s not that far away.” He felt the other nodding slightly against his chest. “You can definitely trust me on this. We’ll live.”


	36. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been almost two months, I'm so sorry T.T It was exam period for me so I barely had the time to do anything else besides studying and sleeping >.< but I survived somehow ^^'  
> Since I'm "free" now for the next month - I need to work as much as I'm allowed to and then spend all my money on furniture bc I'm moving - it hopefully won't take as long for the next chapter (not making any promises tho bc I'm unreliable af)

“So, where are we going now?” Daehyun slumped back in his seat and exhaled deeply. He looked exhausted. The oxygen masks had been tossed behind them carelessly.

“Everywhere we want to.” Youngjae turned around in his seat to smile at him. “This plane doesn’t have an autopilot.”

“You mean it’s won’t crash like the other one if we don’t go to wherever the others went?” Daehyun raised his eyebrows. Could it really be? Was this finally their chance to free themselves?

“Exactly.” Youngjae focused on the steering wheel again. “Since this is a plane the military uses, an autopilot would only complicate the usage in situation that require immediate reaction.”

“Makes sense.” Daehyun mumbled and stretched out his legs as best as he could without kicking the other’s seat in front of him. He really needed to take a shower and a good amount of sleep. At least the plane had an AC. The temperatures in Sublamaro had been suffocating. He had been close to fainting many times. “Where are the others going?” he asked, though not because he wanted to go there. He didn’t want to be near any of those people ever again.

“Enla Montoj. It’s basically a city build inside of a mountain.”

“You guys have a thing for fancy locations, don’t you?” Daehyun raised his eyebrows and chuckled a little. It somehow suited those people.

“The risk to be found by humans is lesser.”Youngjae shrugged. “Though of course if something like that fire happens, we’re basically trapped, so we have to take extra safety measures.”

“Makes sense.” Daehyun rested his hand on his now rather huge belly. “When we tried to escape back then you said you knew someone living in the human world who could abort the child...”

“Yes but-” He could literally tell Youngjae was frowning very hard just by his tone.

Daehyun cut him off before Youngjae could form his misunderstanding thoughts into words. “Then he should be able to help delivering it too, right? I doubt we can consult a human doctor.”

Youngjae took a moment to process what Daehyun had said. “Uh, sure. So Seoul it is?”

Daehyun nodded and smiled, before remembering that the other wasn’t facing him. “Yes, let’s go home, finally.”

Youngjae sighed, seemingly content, before leaning forward a little to type something on a small screen. “It’s been so long, hasn’t it? Almost seems unreal to be going home now.”

“Kind of, yes...” Daehyun agreed. “At some point I almost thought we were never gonna make it back. Still, I’m not quite sure how we’ll go on, with the child and all… On top of that I missed quite a lot of my studies. I’m not even sure how much time has passed.”

“Me neither.” Youngjae shrugged. “But I’m sure we will manage somehow. I can always postpone my degree and take care of the child while you go to university. I believe we’ve been through worse than taking care of a child.”

“Indeed.” Daehyun chuckled. “You’d think that childcare is a piece of a cake in comparison to what happened to us but once it starts to wake us in the middle of the night I’m sure we’ll think differently.”

“That just gives me an excuse to stay up all night and play games.” Youngjae laughed, earning a light hit on the back of his head by Daehyun.

“No it definitely doesn’t!”

“You’ll thank me for not having to get up at 4am, just wait for it.”

“You wish.” Daehyun huffed. The other was still as irresponsible as always after all. It was nice to see that he hadn’t changed that much though. “Wait, are you using GPS?” Youngjae had always berated him for relying on navigation devices because he would unlearn how to use his own sense of orientation. “Hypocrite.” he mumbled in a joking manner.

 

“So...” Daehyun yawned and stretched his limbs, looking around. “Where exactly are we?” They were on a clearing in a forest it seemed. At first he had assumed they would land somewhere near Seoul, obviously they couldn’t land in the middle of the city, but of course they had to take a route avoiding any cities because they couldn’t have their plane discovered. It was already surprising enough they hadn’t been noticed already. Maybe the plane had some sort of technology to keep it hidden. After all Sublamaro was extremely advanced, at least technologically-wise. Their mentality seemed medieval at times.

“We’re close to a friend’s house.” Youngjae now climbed out of the plane as well. “I bet he’ll be thrilled to get a brand-new plane in exchange for his car. We can’t fly straight to Seoul after all.” He gazed down onto the other’s feet, who only wore thin sandals, then his eyes wandered to his belly. “We’ll have to walk quite a bit though. I couldn't land the plane closer to the house because of all the trees.”

“I thought so.” Daehyun nodded, though his first instinct at the other’s words had been to let himself drop onto the floor and just fall asleep. Even though he had been able to rest himself during their flight, he was exhausted. His limbs were heavy, his feet sore and his belly made each of his movements even more difficult. “Your friend must be rich if he can just give his car away, I mean, even if you’d have a plane, you still need a car to go elsewhere so he’ll have to buy a new one.”

“He’s got enough money to never have to work again.” Youngjae shrugged. “Didn’t work for it but I guess I’m not the one to judge.”

Daehyun chuckled. “Indeed. And why does he live in a forest?” he asked curiously. Despite Youngjae calling that person a friend, he had never mentioned him before. Well, he hadn’t really mentioned any of his acquaintances until Daehyun had met or was going to meet them. “Is he a misanthropist?”

“I don’t think he likes humans very much but the main reason is that he has asthma and would suffocate in cities like Seoul.” Youngjae glanced down at his feet once more. “I could carry you. These shoes are clearly just for the aesthetics.”

“I’ll walk as far as I can.” Daehyun straightened his posture and motioned for Youngjae to walk in whatever direction his friend’s house was. “Let’s just go, I won’t become any less tired if we stay here talking for hours.”

“Right.” Youngjae nodded and took his hand, gently pulling him with him while also letting him rest a bit against his arm.

 

Youngjae hadn’t lied when he had said they would have to walk quite a bit. It felt as if it had been hours. Even though Daehyun felt that he would probably fall over if Youngjae didn’t support his weight, he didn’t complain, nor did he ask the other to carry him. It was a shame the both were too exhausted to enjoy their surroundings.

“Is it still far?” he asked breathlessly after another several minutes.

“Maybe another five to ten minutes.” Youngjae answered, slowing his steps a bit so that it was easier for Daehyun to keep up with him. “You’re okay?”

Daehyun nodded. “If it really is ten minutes. I think you said the same like half an hour ago.”

“We haven’t even walked that long.” Youngjae chuckled weakly. “But I agree it feels like eternity.”

“Really?” Daehyun sighed. “Then I guess the ten minutes will feel like twenty at least.”

“I hope not.” Youngjae moaned. “I’d need another pair of legs then.”

 

In fact, it felt like another hour.

Both sighed in relief when the house came into sight. It was made from wood and smaller than Daehyun would have imagined, given that the owner was quite rich but it definitely was more than enough for one person. A small path lead away from the house, just wide enough for one car. It didn’t look like it had ever been used though.

“It’s pretty.” he commented when he noticed Youngjae looking at him.

“It’s prettier on the inside. Has chairs and beds, you know.” Youngjae took his hand and walked towards the front door, which opened just when he raised his hand to knock.

“Look who’s come to visit.” The man was tall, handsome, probably the same age as Youngjae and Daehyun. “Haven’t seen you in a while.” He grinned and boxed the other’s shoulder. “How’s it going?”

“Fine, I guess. We’ve only just walked for an hour or so and feel like we’re about to pass out. This is Daehyun by the way.” He put an arm around Daehyun’s shoulder.

“Nice to meet you, I’m JB.” The man grinned. “Of course that’s not actually the name on my ID but I prefer to go with this one.” He turned to look at Youngjae again. “I suppose you won’t tell me why you’re here or why you’re dressed this weirdly, so come in anyway.” He made place for them to enter.

“Thanks.” Youngjae lead Daehyun straight into the living room and made him sit on the couch. “Do you have any spare clothes?”

“Yes, sure.” JB’s eyes landed on Daehyun’s belly. “Look, I know I’m not to supposed to ask questions but… How does that work? Shit, you’re not part of some kind of mafia that modifies people’s bodies like that in order to sell them, right?”

Youngjae shook his head laughing softly while Daehyun sat there and smiled awkwardly. “No, although that would explain why I can’t tell you anything.”

“So what is it? I mean… What’s going on with you two?” JB furrowed his brows.

“It’s complicated.” The other shrugged. “Just know that no one will come after you because you helped us and I’m no criminal.”

“That’ll do, I guess. Sometimes I really wish you would tell me a bit more, you know. I’m usually quite a curious person.”

Daehyun figured JB was human. He almost admired him for trusting Youngjae that much. They must have known each other for a long time for him to trust the other that much.

“I’m not sure I have clothes that’ll fit him though.” JB smiled apologetically at Daehyun. “Maybe some sweatpants and an oversized shirt, I’ll see what I can find.”

“Thanks.” Daehyun shifted a bit in his seat, still very awkward. It had been uncomfortable enough to be around others while not being used to the state his body currently was in even when they knew what was going on and now he was being looked at like some rare animal in a zoo. He could tell the other was doing his best not to stare but it was obvious he was a freaked out. Well, any normal person would be.

“Well, um...” JB cleared his throat. “I’ll go look for clothes then. If you need food or drinks – I guess you do, with how you look – you know where the kitchen is.” He nodded at Youngjae before almost running out of the room.

“He isn’t usually like this.”

Daehyun raised an eyebrow and shook his head slightly. “It’s not exactly usual to have a pregnant man in your living room. And we’re both dressed weirdly as well.”

The other looked like he had momentarily forgotten that the two of them were quite a weird couple. Blinking a few times, he slowly got up. “I mean, he’s used to me sometimes being dressed like this but yeah, I sometimes forget human men usually don’t get pregnant.” He chuckled. “Considering how odd our situation is, he actually handled it quite well.”

“I’m surprised he just accepts you not telling him anything.”

“Not everyone’s as impatient as you are. Don’t look at me like that, you know it’s true.” He dodged Daehyun’s half-hearted hit, grinning.

“But if you’re saying he’s patient, you did promise to tell him somewhen.”

“Somewhen, yes. I’m not sure when exactly. It’s not that I fear he would turn me down or something like that…” Hesitating, he ruffled Daehyun's hair. “We’ve been friends for such a long time. No matter how long it’s been, it never feels awkward but I just don’t know how to tell him. I mean, I did manage to explain everything to you somehow but… I don’t know, it’s just different.”

“I see.” Daehyun brushed his hand off before holding it, giving it a light squeeze. “I’m sure he understands. It’s okay to wait until you feel comfortable.”

“Thanks.” Youngjae smiled, assured. “I’ll go get something to eat.”

Daehyun considered following the other only for a brief moment before he decided his legs didn’t deserve to have to move anymore today. Leaning back, he stroked his belly. Sometimes he felt small movements, or maybe that was just his imagination. He must be due soon. It was almost surreal. Every moment soldiers from Sublamaro could burst in and force them to go back, make it so that Youngjae and he would never see each other again. But it wouldn't happened. Somehow that had become the more unbelievable part of the story. Not that they would be having a baby but that they would be able to live in peace.

“I-”

He flinched at the voice, half-expecting it to really be a soldier.

“Sorry.” JB dropped a bunch of clothes next to him. “I have a habit of sneaking around the house. Not that anyone would hear me anyway.” He smiled, once again apologetic. “I should have considered that you’ve probably gone through a lot of shit.”

“It’s fine.” Daehyun cleared his throat. “I was just a bit startled, that’s all. No need to worry.”

“If you say so.” the other hummed and shrugged while crouching down to look through the clothes. “Just… If you need someone to talk to who isn’t part of whatever is going on with you and Youngjae… I guess you’ll be staying the night and I don’t really sleep a lot. I often sit around in the kitchen.”

“Thanks.” It would indeed be nice to have someone to talk, especially someone as kind as JB but he knew he couldn’t accept the offer. He might accidentally tell him something he wasn’t supposed to know. It was Youngjae's job to tell him everything, he didn’t want to take that from him.

“Another thing, um...” JB dropped the shirt he had examined to look at him. “This is probably another thing I shouldn't be asking but… Is Youngjae the father?”

Daehyun nodded. “It was consensual.” he added when he saw a hint of doubt flash across the other’s face.

“Of course it was, I never doubted that!” JB pointed at him accusingly. “I know him better than anyone else. It’s just that first of all I don’t understand how this even works and secondly, Youngjae should have told me earlier that I’m going to be a godfather!”

“Who said it’s going to be you?” asked Youngjae in a mocking tone as he re-entered the room and walked over to hand Daehyun a bowl of Ramyeon, whose stomach growled at the sight of it. “Maybe I have other friends who’d make better godfathers.”

“Yeah right.” JB scoffed. “Online friends don’t count. They could be extremely irresponsible and for example feed junk food to the child. Or to a pregnant person.”

“Shut up.” Youngjae grumbled as he sat beside Daehyun, almost spilling his own Ramyeon. “I’d probably fall asleep while cooking and set your house on fire.”

“Still, you should take better care of-”

“It’s delicious though.” Daehyun mumbled in between of their bickering.

“That’s the most important thing, isn’t it?” The other grinned while practically inhaling his food.

“Also,” Daehyun added after a few minutes of slurping noises, “I think I’ve had enough healthy food in the past few months so that I’ll be able to eat junk food for the rest of my life.”


	37. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It HopEfUlLy wOnt TaKe aS lONg fOr thE nExT ChaPteR  
> I’m really sorry for taking so long again >,< I moved, the new semester started and suddenly almost 3 month had passed… That and I had a little bit of a writer’s block but since we’re really close to the end now I hope I’ll be able to pull myself together for the last chapter(s? Not sure yet ^^’)  
> Anyway, I finally managed to write something, it’s short but at least it’s something to upload while I try to think of a nice ending ^^

“ I can’t believe we’re finally back.” 

“Me neither.” Youngjae wrapped his arm around the other’s shoulder.

They still sat in JB’s car, waiting for the sun to set. Though the clothes JB had given to Daehyun fit over his belly, it wasn’t able to hide it the slightest, so they had to wait until they probably wouldn’t run into other humans. “I can’t even remember how long we’ve been gone.”

“It’s surreal. I mean, we left thinking it wouldn’t be more than one or two days and somehow it became several months.” Daehyun sighed. “And soon we’ll have a child.”

“Yeah, it’s weird. But I’m sure we’ll manage somehow.” Youngjae chuckled softly. “Though I suppose we should enjoy getting a full eight hours of sleep for as long as we can.”

The other only grimaced as he let himself sink into Youngjae’s embrace. The two of them raising a child together… Neither of them knew how that would turn out. Of course they had never been prepared for this, not even when they had been in Sublamaro. The queen had wanted the child to be raised by someone else, so it hadn’t been necessary to teach him what a child needed. The doctor had told him one or two things about giving birth but that had been it.

“I think it should be safe now.” It wasn’t completely dark yet but late enough so that it would be unlikely to meet others.

Daehyun nodded and took a deep breath. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous. They had been gone for so long. What if their apartment wouldn't feel like home anymore? Or if it wasn’t as nice as he remembered it?

“It’s gonna be okay.” Youngjae said reassuringly, as if he knew exactly what he was thinking. “Not perfect I guess, but okay.” As they were walking towards their apartment, he took Daehyun's hand and squeezed it gently. “I wouldn't want to experience this with anyone else but you.”

 

Unexpectedly, they found back to their old routine quite fast.

On their first evening Youngjae ordered pizza and cheesecake. After that, they cuddled up on the couch, watching the news. Not much had changed in the outside world while they had been gone. They weren’t sure whether that was supposed to be a good or bad thing. Little bit of both, probably.

“I missed this.” Daehyun hummed after turning off the TV. “You know, just being able to be together and not having to worry about anything.” Even though they were just ignoring their problems for a short while, it felt like they had finally come back to living a peaceful, normal life. A life that wasn’t about to be interrupted by a baby and god-knows-whatever kind of stuff might happen to them in the future.

“Me too. It doesn’t even feel like we haven’t done this for months. Actually it feels normal.” Youngjae hurried to support the other as he walked towards the bedroom. “I will call her, the _doctor_ tomorrow, so we can go over the most important things as soon as possible.”

“Sounds good. And for the child’s furniture, order it online?” They had agreed that for as long as possible, they wouldn’t let anyone else besides themselves know they were having a child, so of course they couldn’t just go to a store and have everyone see them. It had already been awkward enough when Youngjae had decided to go look at maternity wear in a store because obviously Daehyun's old clothes didn’t fit anymore, at least for the time being. The dress-thing he had brought back looked horrible on Daehyun so they had settled with oversized sweaters and sweatpants.

“Yup. We should probably do that tomorrow. I’m not really sure how much time we’ve got left.” Youngjae gently pressed a hand onto the baby belly. He almost immediately broke into a wide smile. “I think it’s in a bad mood right now.”

“Maybe it doesn’t like you. Why else would it kick you all the time?” It was as if the baby knew whenever Youngjae was close because it would always move just then.

“Well it also kicks you every time it kicks me, so...” He gave Daehyun a quick kiss before helping him out of his sweater and into his a few sizes too big pyjama.

While Daehyun had to be careful not to trip over the long legs he could also use the arms to slap the other whenever he said something meant to be playful that somehow managed to annoy the hell out of Daehyun, who would always use the hormones as an excuse, which was also very effective if he wanted to be spoiled a little. Groaning softly as he slowly let himself sink into his pillows with Youngjae’s help, he couldn't help but look forward to the time they would spend as three. Not only because he would finally be able to move freely again without a giant belly but mostly because he looked forward to seeing their child. The moments he feared that the baby would seem like a stranger to him or that it would hate him were outweighed by those that showed him that Youngjae would be a great father and that they were going to be able to provide the child with a loving home and hopefully a happy childhood. Knowing what it felt like to not have those things made him feel even happier that he, they, could make that happen for someone.


End file.
